Turnabout Blue Earth
by Sith Droideka
Summary: January 2027: Gus M. Org, a corporate vice-president, has been poisoned. His secretary, Bertha B. Caroline, was arrested, and Apollo Justice was hired to defend her. However, there's a few snags in the case: the first is that the prosecutor for the case is a Mrs. Iris Wright, a higher court prosecutor. And the second is an eight-year-old case handled by a man named Godot.
1. Investigation, Day 1

November 12, 2018: the day the Great Banks Dam burst. Explosive charges went off all along it, bringing a cascade of water down on an unsuspecting town.

113 people died, and two men were arrested. One was let go, and one was imprisoned.

The latter didn't last a year.

* * *

Apollo Justice knew that his boss was married.

He had never probed very far into it. It wasn't his place. Occasionally Trucy would refer to her adoptive mother or her brother and sister, or Mr. Wright would refer to his wife or his other kids, but they rarely came up. Apollo knew that they lived in the suburbs and that the main breadwinner was Mr. Wright's wife, and that she was the one with the car (Apollo would make fun of Mr. Wright for that if it weren't for the fact that Apollo himself rarely drove. But at least he _had _a driver's license!) but Apollo didn't like to pry.

That also meant that he'd never met her or his biological children either. When Trucy and Mr. Wright mentioned them, it was clear that they were Trucy's younger siblings and that Mr. Wright loved his wife and children all very much. But they rarely came up since, after all, they weren't involved in any of the investigations Apollo was part of. Not in Vera's trial, or Kitaki's trial, or the Tobaye farce.

Well, that wasn't _entirely _true. Apollo knew one thing about Mr. Wright's wife, that she had been involved in the creation of the Jurist system that was currently being tested in Texas after the Californian legislature had come down on it. But that wasn't a surprise (not the Texas and California thing, that had caught the legal world by surprise since it was heralded as the beginning of the end of the Dark Age of the Law): Mr. Wright had contracted all sorts of friends and associates as part of the creation, Mr. Wright had told him, from his old friends and veteran prosecutors Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma, or his old assistant of the Fey clan who practiced some ridiculous new age "spirit channeling" theatrics, or even an imprisoned prosecutor who had murdered said assistant's mother. He'd heard an executed woman gave testimony at the trial where Armando had been caught; maybe Trucy knew how to do that trick?

In any case, it had been only a week since the New Year, 2027, and Mr. Wright was currently overseas to find a new employee. He did that a lot, lately, actually; Apollo wondered how, exactly, he was going to be able to pass the bar exam when he was traipsing around Europe. At least he would be returning tomorrow; until then, for the last week or so, Apollo and Trucy had been in charge of the agency.

Watching an agency with no cases was not much fun. It was almost closing time and Trucy was practicing her magic tricks while Apollo waited at Mr. Wright's desk, trying and failing to read some of his thick legal books, like what had happened every day for the past week. "Hey, Polly!" Trucy called from the other room, "have you seen my-"

"Yes."

"Well how about-"

"Probably."

"Then what about-"

"Yep."

"That was an all new trick, Polly!" Trucy said. She stomped on the ground and rushed into the office, frowning. "C'mon, you don't need to read those! Daddy never reads them!"

"Has _anyone _ever read them?" Apollo asked, looking dubiously at the thick legalese. He certainly wasn't making heads or tails of it.

"I think Mommy did once? Well, she read _one _book," Trucy said, "and Daddy tried to read _two_. I mean, he didn't actually finish them and I accidentally used them in a magic trick of mine…"

Apollo decided not to ask how a magician accidentally used heavy tomes in a trick. "Right, Trucy," Apollo said, "well, I'm sorry for not showing much interest, but considering Mr. Wright's not due until tomorrow and he's supposed to be finding a new lawyer, I don't want to look inferior. I've heard the European systems are highly progressive." And he returned to reading the book.

"Uncle Edgeworth just says that the European nations' bar exams are easier," Trucy replied. "Besides! I know that Daddy won't fire you unless he finds someone really, really good!"

"Thanks, Trucy," Apollo said, "but I think you can go cheer me up elsewhere-"

And then the phone rang. Trucy quickly pulled a handset out of her magic panties (those things still made Apollo uncomfortable) and then, after a series of "mm-hmms, mm-hmms," and an "okay, Daddy!", she handed the phone to Apollo.

"Mr. Wright?" Apollo said, standing up, "did something happen?"

"I found someone but she's going to need some time to prepare to fly out to America," Mr. Wright said, "and I'm going to be flying in early, too. I'll arrive at three in the morning, not that you care, I guess. Meet up with me at the agency an hour early, because we have an investigation to do."

"Something happened, boss?" Apollo said, his heart racing. Did somebody _die_?

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Mr. Wright said. The phone call terminated. Did Mr. Wright _have _to be mysterious?

There was a car horn honk outside the office. "Sorry, Polly, I've got to go home!" Trucy said. She waved goodbye and ran out, calling, "lock up, please!" afterwards.

A new case… and soon a new coworker! And Mr. Wright still hadn't taken his bar exam. What would he look like, the disbarred lawyer with two underlings better able to defend than him? Apollo wondered what Clay would say…

* * *

"Sounds like a fun time, dude," Clay said as Apollo walked home to his apartment, chatting on the phone with his best friend. "A lady attorney, huh? I know you don't have a girlfriend…"

"That's not my concern right now, Clay," Apollo said. "Who cares about the new attorney, there's a case too!" _Besides_, Apollo thought, _it's not like _you _have a girlfriend, Clay!_

"Hmm… well, looking through the news sites," Clay said, "it looks like… wow. Apparently a vice president of a genetics company in downtown LA was murdered, Apollo. Mr. Gus M. Org. Maybe that's it?"

"Maybe," Apollo said. He entered his apartment complex and began walking up the stairs that lead to his floor. "Any further details?"

"Hmm… well, according to the news article the usual prosecutor won't be the same," Clay said, "Klavier Gavin's in Texas right now on behalf of Mr. Wright, so they're bringing in a higher-level prosecutor to do bar trials until the newest guy's ready…"

"Great," Apollo said. "How much would a high court prosecutor even know, though?"

"I'm not the lawyer, dude, but c'mon. You'll be fine," Clay replied. "Sorry, gotta go!" And he hung up.

Apollo sighed and entered his apartment. The court system right now had two levels: the bar trials and the high court trials. The former were handled by lawyers such as Apollo or Klavier and allowed a judge to give a fair and speedy trial to the accused and allowed the prosecution to weed out any weak arguments or poor arrests, or at least, that was the intent. Then the high courts would give the accused a lengthier, more professional trial with less theatrics. The bar trials were more famous and more watched, but the juries and the judges involved in the high court trials were the ones who decided the fate of the accused. Assuming, of course, that the high court's prosecutors were now able to prove their case without a shadow of a doubt. Or at least, that was the intention.

Apollo flopped down on his bed and for a moment considered maybe calling Trucy or Ema to see if they could tell him something else. The news story Clay found seemed likely. At least he finally had work. Too bad a man had to die to give him it… What had almost happened to Vera shook him.

But he supposed that was the way with bar defense attorneys or bar prosecutors. The death was done: now what was important was finding the truth and defending the innocent.

* * *

_January 11, 8:00 AM, Wright Anything Agency_

Apollo met up with Mr. Wright an hour early, like he promised. Mr. Wright was back into a suit for some reason, although he had a locket tucked into his pocket. Where did his hobo garb go? "Today, I'll be your assistant," Mr. Wright said cheerfully, "Trucy has to be at school, you know…"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. "Where to?"

"Mexico Biogenetic Agriculture," Mr. Wright said, "it's their Los Angeles branch, downtown. It's only about a twenty-minute walk."

"Why don't you just get your own car?" Apollo said. "I mean, at least you're married to someone with a lot of money…"

"I can bike to the office and I can bike to the bar I used to play at," Mr. Wright replied. "C'mon, Apollo, you should be more environmentally-friendly. Or, at least, that's what I tell myself on hot and cold days…"

The twenty-story MBA building was already swarming with police when they arrived, the most prominent of which was Detective Skye. "I assume you've been hired by the defendant?" Ema said when Apollo and Mr. Wright moved to talk to her.

"Miss Caroline?" Mr. Wright said, "yeah, she hired us."

"The evidence's solid, Mr. Wright," Ema said. And then she glanced to the side and huffed. "I can't believe it…"

"Something wrong, Ema?" Apollo said.

"I'm getting _transferred_," Ema said. "Some guy named Fulbright's being sent to replace me. They say it'll only be for a year and I'll be working in northern California, but still! Transferred! Me!" She pulled out a bag of Snackoos and began furiously munching on them.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Apollo said, seeking to placate her. Personally, he didn't know how unfortunate that was; while Ema wasn't exactly a hard nut to crack in court, hopefully this Fulbright guy would be easier.

"I'll say," Ema said, still not looking either of them in the eye. "Go ahead guys. The prosecution's already here, with some other not-me detective, in the vic's office. If Caroline's hired you then I suppose there's no harm in letting you up." As they left, she grumbled, "and I arrested her too! Stupid detective seniority rules, putting me on the _ground _because I don't need to be at the crime scene anymore..."

The police officers directed them to the eighteenth floor, where Mr. Org's office and the meeting room he was killed in were located. Mr. Wright lead Apollo to Mr. Org's office first. "Usually there's something that the police overlook," Mr. Wright said, "and as defense attorneys, it's important to find that and use it to prove our case."

"I _know_, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. "I'm not an amateur anymore. Just because your new hire…"

"New hire?" The two had entered Mr. Org's office to find that the police were apparently thinking along their lines. A man in a scruffy trenchcoat was currently looking through a set of drawers on the desk; meanwhile, a black-haired woman with two braids running through her hair (Apollo wasn't quite sure how to describe her, actually, seeing as he wasn't an expert on fashion) who was wearing a white shirt over which was a purple overcoat and purple pants and unusually, had some sort of white gloves on that covered only the back of her hands. Around her neck was a necklace with a magatama on it. And she was staring at Mr. Wright. "What's this about a new hire?" she said again.

"Oh, just someone I met in Europe," Mr. Wright said, "Athena Cykes. Brilliant, and studied to attain a very important goal. How could I deny that?"

"Same old Mr. Wright, pal," the scruffy man said. He stood up. "Hey, that's your new lawyer, isn't it!?" Apollo resisted the urge to shove his badge in the man's face in response.

"Apollo Justice," the woman said. "So, tell me, who's going to be handling the case?"

_Seriously_?"Uh, probably the person with the badge," Apollo said, pointing to his badge pinned to his suit.

She smiled a little at that. "Well, I know I'm no expert, but I can guarantee this, Mr. Wright," she said haughtily, smugly even, "that by the end of that trial, you will be on your knees begging me for a plea bargain. I know all your little tricks, I've studied Justice's extensively, and I won't be fooled."

Oh, great, another hotshot prosecutor. "You know, ma'am," Apollo said aggressively, "just because you think that Mr. Wright could only win through forged evidence and bluffing doesn't change the fact that if our defendant is not guilty that there's no way we'll let you send someone to prison for the sake of a perfect record or something! Don't act like some sort of rookie can beat one of the greatest defense attorneys in the world, just because Kristoph Gavin planted some evidence! In short, take down that pride a notch and show some respect!"

The woman blinked and stared at him for a minute… and then she and Mr. Wright burst out into laughter. "Why are they laughing, pal?" the detective said. Apollo shrugged, still feeling tense and angry. And what was Mr. Wright _doing_?

Then the woman stepped forward to get right in Mr. Wright's face- Apollo bet that Trucy wouldn't like that- and then she fiddled with his chain. "Next time," she said, "please make sure your chain is straight, Phoenix. You know you need to look your best. You always did. Also, please come home on time tonight, or at least don't delay too long. I know you desperately want to investigate and prove if the defendant's guilty or not, but the kids haven't seen you since you left for Europe over a week ago. And if we're going to make dinner I expect you to be there to eat it."

Apollo felt like his jaw would drop. Did he just… insult… Mr. Wright's _WIFE!? _And on closer inspection, Apollo saw that she also had a wedding band and what was probably an engagement ring… "I-I'm so sorry, ma'am!" Apollo said, feeling the need to bow and succeeding only in stumbling forward past Mrs. Wright and nearly knocking the detective over.

"Watch it, pal!" the detective yelled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said sweetly, "I understand that you're highly loyal to my husband, but I _do _have a job to do until Mr. Blackquill is fit for duty, and the other prosecutors are otherwise engaged. Mr. Edgeworth asked me to handle this case as a personal favor to him." She extended her hand and helped Apollo to his feet, and then she said, "my name is Iris Wright. I am a criminal prosecutor and, for this case, I am a bar prosecutor too."

"Bar prosecutor… right," Apollo said, still feeling woozy from insulting his boss's wife to her face right in front of him. "I, uh, thought-"

"A bit of trash talk between attorneys is normal before a case," Mr. Wright said, "but I don't think Iris would feel comfortable with attacking _you _directly, especially considering the trials you had to go through…"

"Thank you for helping Trucy, by the way," Mrs. Wright added.

"And I'm Detective Dick Gumshoe," Gumshoe said, "pleased to meet ya! So, uh, Mrs. Wright, are we going to head out now?"

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Until later, Phoenix," she said, and she left, followed by Gumshoe, but not before kissing Mr. Wright on the cheek.

"I-I'm so sorry, boss," Apollo said, "it's just, you know-"

"You don't need to apologize to me," Mr. Wright said, "to her, maybe, but to me…" Mr. Wright trailed off and Apollo fervently hoped he wasn't thinking of punishing him. "Let's investigate, shall we?"

Surprisingly for a scene that seemed to be unrelated to the crime scene, nothing seemed out-of-place. "Looks like she did a good job… if there was anything at all," Apollo said as Mr. Wright inspected a desk and Apollo inspected a filing cabinet.

"The upper courts tend to put more emphasis on thoroughness than the lower courts," Mr. Wright said, apparently ignoring Apollo's barb, "clearly, that approach carried over to the actual police work. Rissy sure was thorough…"

"…_Rissy_?" Apollo said, "I can feel my teeth rotting, Mr. Wright…"

Mr. Wright chuckled once, reminding Apollo more of his hobo days than his proper lawyerly self. "Just a little inside joke," he said, glancing at the floor, "and, uh, don't call her that in court. Or ever, really."

"…Right," Apollo said, "in that case, sir, please don't bother telling me."

Mr. Wright kept smiling, so Apollo sighed and resumed his search by carefully looking at the floor. What would they even _find _in here even if Gumshoe hadn't found anything, anyways? They didn't even know what the victim looked like, or why he'd been killed, or where the crime scene had been, or-

"Here it is," Mr. Wright said, pulling a drawer open. "Looks like Detective Gumshoe pulled some papers out, or for some reason, the top pages of a report have vanished."

"What's the report on?" Apollo asked as Mr. Wright pulled the report out, his hands now gloved, and began to read it.

"These are just the citations," Mr. Wright said after a moment, "we should go ask Gumshoe if he took this. If not, we'll need the full text of this report. It might let us in to the true murderer's intentions."

They found Gumshoe and Mrs. Wright at the scene of crime. "Since the initial investigation's over," Mrs. Wright was saying as Apollo and Mr. Wright entered the room, "I'll leave you to answer any questions the defense they might have." She walked past Mr. Wright and Apollo without a word.

The scene of the crime was a meeting room, which looked like any other meeting room. It was completely normal-looking, no longer even had police bustling, and the only signs that it had been the scene of a crime was a police-tape outline of the victim. As for the crime itself, it was believed, according to Gumshoe, that the victim had ingested poisoned coffee during a meeting with his secretary, Miss Bertha Beltran Caroline. The two had been having disagreements, apparently. "Even worse for you guys," Gumshoe said, actually looking rather happy, "is that we have a key witness who saw Caroline adding the poison to the coffee. He said he thought it was sugar, but…"

"So he's probably the murderer, is what you're saying," Apollo said.

Gumshoe frowned. "I don't think so, pal…" Gumshoe said.

"Don't tell me it's…" Mr. Wright said, suddenly looking very exasperated.

"Mr. Butz? No, it's an intern. He's a new hire, pal!" Gumshoe said triumphantly.

"I guess he's glad that we can't accuse him of murder," Mr. Wright said, still looking exasperated, "it's not like I'm even the lawyer here!"

_Thanks, Mr. Wright_, Apollo thought, _the murder would be too simple in that case, and we can't have _that_…_

The investigation of the crime scene began. However, there was also practically no evidence that the police hadn't already found or taken away. Gumshoe did reveal upon further questioning that he didn't have the missing report.

"We'll need to get our hands on that," Apollo declared.

"I'll go ask Ema," Gumshoe said, and he ran off. Apollo furrowed his brow as Gumshoe left. She was guarding the building, what was he doing going to ask her?

"Gumshoe answers to her," Mr. Wright said, answering Apollo's question as if he'd read Apollo's mind. "It's kind of funny considering that he's something like ten years older than her… Then again, he's also almost ten years older than his wife."

"I… see," Apollo said. He wasn't aware that he had signed up for the "let's talk about people's family lives" discussions today. "Well, anything else, Mr. Wright?"

"Nothing seems to be out of place here," Mr. Wright said, "looks like my complaining about the police's shoddy work rubbed off."

"Yeah, don't take all the credit, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. He sighed. "Maybe that Fulbright guy will make things better…"

Mr. Wright shrugged. "Well, I'll see if I can get something from Iris," he said, "you go visit Miss Caroline at the detention center."

And so Apollo set out to the detention center alone. Miss Caroline was an older woman, gray-haired, with wire-frame glasses, and stared at Apollo with such transfixition that he felt the urge to look away. Her face was lined, her suit a fine, crisp blue, and her accent was British. "Mr. Wright, is it?" she said, sounding like she was some sort of television announcer and not a real person, "or is it his associate, Apollo Justice?" She pulled out a pen and notebook from nowhere and started flipping through it. "It seems that I have this interview scheduled, yes…" she said.

Apollo thought that would get very, very annoying. "Miss Caroline," Apollo said, "first, you were not the murderer, were you?"

Caroline frowned and flipped through her book before stowing it away. "In a sense," she said, "you could say that I _am _the murderer. I was the one who brought Mr. Org his coffee. I should've taste-tested that first. However..."

"It wasn't written in your schedule?" Apollo asked.

"Actually, it's against company policy," Caroline responded smartly. She pulled her glasses off, polished them, and then returned her powerful gaze to Apollo. "You should _never _violate company policy, Mr. Justice."

"I'll… keep that in mind, Miss Caroline," Apollo said.

Caroline nodded. "It is good that the young learn something," she commented, and then she checked her notebook again. "Do you have any other questions, Mr. Justice?"

"Of course," Apollo said. "Miss, would you happen to know about a missing report in Mr. Org's office?"

"A missing report?" Caroline said, raising her eyebrows. "Mr. Justice, missing reports are against company policy!"

"And murder isn't?" Apollo said, and he felt just a little exasperated. Just a little.

Caroline frowned and checked through her notebook _yet again_. "Actually, it seems that it's not," she said, "however, missing reports are."

"Yeah, well, something tells me our criminal doesn't care about that," Apollo said. "Miss Caroline, do you know what Mr. Org even handled, what kind of reports he had?"

"It's a report on ties to some Mexican agricultural firms," Ema said suddenly, "it's odd that it's missing, but Mrs. Wright doesn't seem that worried." Apollo turned around in his chair to see Ema standing behind him. "I've been sent to help you," she added, and she took out a snack bag. "Better you and Mrs. Wright than the glimmerous fop…"

_Glamorous fop…_ Apollo thought, as always slightly annoyed by Ema's made-up word, and then he turned back to face Caroline. "Miss Caroline," he said, "do you know any reason someone might steal the actual report part of that report?"

"…Mr. Org was vice president of agricultural research," Caroline said. "I assume you're speaking of the 12-2 Report, as that was the last one concerned with out Mexican business partners."

"And who would these partners be?" Ema said, pushing Apollo to the side to steal part of his chair. "Well, Miss Caroline?"

"You are not my lawyer," Caroline said, "why should I share anything with you?"

"Because we'll find out everything from the main offices anyway," Ema declared, "now, Miss Caroline, could you please…"

Caroline sighed and checked her notebook. "Well, it doesn't seem to be against company policy… our partners related to the 12-2 Report are several large farms devoted to the production of genetically-engineered maize in the heartland of Mexico. The largest of which, and the one we were mainly concerned with, is Mexico Maize Agricultural, a Mexican-American firm."

She pulled her glasses off and polished them. "And what was in the 12-2 Report?" Apollo said.

"The report was nothing but a monthly report on the state of business in Mexico," Caroline said, "the only thing that made it unique was a report on a certain incident in Mexico related to MMA. Specifically, a terroristic attack."

"Terroristic attack?" Apollo said. Was corn that important to al-Queda or something?

"Oh, I think I've heard of that," Ema said, "the burning down of a whole field by a group of environmentalist extremists?"

"Precisely," Caroline said, "it was all over the scientific and industry newsletters last month. The crops we were testing and the crops that MMA were raising resulted in great damages from both of us. The six attackers were arrested and legally required to pay the damages sustained- approximately $6 million's worth."

"$6-6 _million_!?" Apollo said (that was like 600,000 containers of hair gel!), "uh… couldn't you just throw them in prison or something?"

"Science is expensive, Apollo," Ema said, "I don't blame them for wanting to be payed back!"

"Yeah, but… your average Joe can't afford that…" Apollo said.

"If they were your average Joes, it'd be a different story," Ema said, "the attackers-"

"-were a group of rich college students from a certain northeastern American school who took out their anti-scientific biases whilst on holiday to Mexico," Caroline said. "It was most appalling!"

"Yeah!" Ema said. "I heard that they were caught before they could try and firebomb the farm's research lab!"

_F-FIREBOMB!? _When Apollo was in college, he never did anything _that _extravagant! "Uh… right, so, are any of those students-" Apollo said.

"Well, I suppose we don't know yet," Ema said. "But this is an old report. It can't be that important."

"I dunno about that…" Apollo said, but he did not elaborate. If Caroline wasn't the murderer, then…

"Well, if there's anything else," Caroline said, "it seems it is almost time for me to return to my cell…"

"It's not even noon yet!" Apollo said.

Caroline looked sharply at him. "Time bends to my schedule, boy!" she barked.

"Well, if you don't mind, Apollo, let me ask a question," Ema said, "Miss Caroline, did you see anyone else on the day of the murder?"

"I saw Mr. Org, of course," Caroline said. "There was also a young man I did not recognize, and one of my coworkers that Mr. Org met with."

"So, first, coworker?" Apollo said.

Caroline nodded. "A new hire, one whom I disagreed with quite often," Caroline said, her voice adopting a bitter edge. "Our workstyles contrasted greatly, you see. That woman… Mr. Org preferred her. I told him he was biased frequently against me, a senior employee, but he paid no heed…"

"So that was the source of your troubles with Mr. Org?" Apollo said. Caroline nodded. "And your coworker's name?"

"Morgan Fey," she said, her face contorted with fury, "a former convict released some six years ago, as I understand it. She works in the floor below me, but she worked for Mr. Org as well. I'm told that she was one of the main compilers of the 12-2 Report… you may want to speak with her on that front."

"And why did you hate her so much besides a difference of work practices?" Ema said.

"…my brother was also a convict," Caroline said. "He was accused as an accomplice to a murderer who deserved to be put behind bars. But my brother was imprisoned, while the killer was not, and he died there. And now, to have a woman who willingly and knowingly helped to kill a man be rising so far past me despite working for Mr. Org for so little time! It _enraged me_," she whispered, hoarsely. "That woman… believe me, Mr. Justice. If there's anyone I want to send to Hell, it's her, not Org."

"And the other employee?" Apollo said.

"Some intern. How am I supposed to remember their name? That's not a company policy," Caroline replied.

"I… see," Apollo said, "in any case, Miss Caroline, please don't commit any murders once you're free. Or I'm afraid we'll be unable to represent you…"

"Or you could, and finally lose," Ema said brightly. "Well, let's go grill that Fey woman."

"That name sounds familiar, actually," Apollo commented, and after a guard lead Caroline back to her cell, Apollo and Ema set out for MBA. On the way there in Ema's car, while Apollo racked his brain to remember where he'd heard of "Fey", Ema talked animatedly of the glorious return of Prosecutor Edgeworth.

"I mean really, it's about time there's someone besides a wannabe-rockstar there. Don't you think?" Ema said, her eyes firmly on the road.

Apollo resisted the urge to point out that Klavier _was _a rockstar and said, "Ema, do you know anything about the prosecutor for this case? Besides that she's Mr. Wright's wife and usually works in the upper court?"

"I've heard she has a reputation for thoroughness and usually relies on scientific evidence," Ema said, "which makes her good in _my _books. Also, apparently she can be kind of scary in court, but I wouldn't know." They pulled up to MBA, which still seemed to have all sorts of police on-site, and got out of her car. "You know what the funny thing is about this place? They didn't even cancel work today. All day, I've been letting people in…"

"So you know who Morgan Fey is?" Apollo said. Ema nodded. "Back to Mrs. Wright…"

"The only other thing I know is that she was an accomplice to murder," Ema said, "but that was about seven years ago."

They entered the building and began taking the ride up to the seventeenth floor. "So, how did a disbarred attorney and an accomplice end up married?" Apollo said.

Ema shrugged and took her snacks back out. "Who cares, it's none of our business," she said, "Snackoo?"

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself."

The doors dinged and Apollo and Ema began hunting for the office of Morgan Fey. It turned out she didn't _have _a proper office, though, instead getting some sort of half-cubicle thing next to a boardroom, leaving the imposing-looking woman to her computers. Her hair was a large black… thing with strains of gray running through it, and her face seemed old and lined. She was, inexplicably, wearing Japanese formal clothing and beside the computer keyboard was a steaming cup of tea in what looked like a sloppy arts-and-crafts mug.

"Miss Fey," Ema said, and Morgan glanced up, glanced at the two, and then back at her work, "we have some questions for you."

"Is that so?" Morgan said, "I am afraid I have important work to do. Yes, very important work."

"Miss Fey, please," Apollo said, "my name is Apollo Justice, of the Wright Anything Agency-"

And then Morgan's eyes flashed white and she looked up at Apollo. "_Him_," she said, "what do you want!?"

"We're just here to ask some questions!" Apollo said, "that's all!"

"You can keep Mr. Wright out of this," Ema said. "And before you ask, I'm not associated with him. I'm a detective."

Morgan made a contemptuous sound. "A lapdog for my weak-willed daughter?" Morgan said, "and a whelp who works for the man who stopped my attempt to put Mystic Pearl in her rightful place?"

Lapdog for weak-willed… _wait, what_!? "You're Mr. Wright's mother-in-law!?" Apollo and Ema exclaimed at the same time.

Morgan sipped her tea. "Unfortunately," she said after a moment, "although, truth be told, I had little to do with the raising of her or her sister. I did not even attend their wedding. Of course, I was in prison, then. I would not be released until my lawyers could make the point that Wright likely used forged evidence."

"Mr. Wright wouldn't use forged evidence!" Ema said.

"The courts at the time did not know that," Morgan replied. "Now, what did you want?"

"12-2 Report," Apollo said. "What is so special about it?"

"12-2, 12-2… ah, yes," Morgan said, "it's very simple, Mr. Justice." She began fiddling around on her computer and then said, "go check the printer, in the copy machine room. It's clearly marked. A new report will print out for you. To share."

"I'd better take that, then," Ema said, "we can just make copies or something." She walked off.

"Is there any reason you can think of for someone to steal the report?" Apollo said.

"No," Morgan replied, "there were several copies made and the original is still on my computer. The only thing notable is a list of the people responsible for the attack on the maize fields."

And then she firmly began ignoring any and all of Apollo's questions. When Ema returned, report in hand, he decided to admit defeat and join Ema on the way back to the precinct. Once they'd arrived, Ema left to go find Mrs. Wright while Apollo met up with Mr. Wright. "Anything, Mr. Wright?"

"I found out about the star witness," Mr. Wright said. "C'mon, let's go talk at the agency."

And so Apollo followed Mr. Wright back to the agency and wished he was with Ema and her car right now. He didn't mean to complain, but it was surprisingly cold out today… They arrived at the agency and began to discuss the case. Apollo shared what he'd learned from Caroline. "So the order of interviews was Caroline, and then Morgan?" Mr. Wright said.

Apollo nodded. "And the report that was stolen was written by your mother-in-law too," Apollo said.

Mr. Wright smiled wryly. "Ah, her," he said, "I haven't thought of her in years… still, you think she has something to do with the case, Apollo?"

"She might," Apollo said. "It depends on what that key witness saw, I suppose. Assuming they're not the murderer, like they always are…"

"Maybe," Mr. Wright said. "I agree that we'll have to wait for the cross-examination. In the mean time, I can tell you what Iris told me: he's a college student who recently transferred to Ivy U and worked as an intern at Org."

"Hmm… any connection to the 12-2 Report that was stolen?" Apollo said.

Mr. Wright shrugged. "We'll have to get it out of the witness," he said.

And then Apollo's phone began ringing. It was Ema: "Apollo, I just got a chance to fully read that report!" she practically yelled into the phone, "it was- there is- he is-"

"Out with it!" Apollo shouted back, taking advantage of his Chords of Steel. Mr. Wright winced.

"There's a full list of every arsonist involved in that attack!" Ema said, "and two of the attackers are really notable: Marvin Org, Mr. Org's son, who recently died in a car crash… and Henry Orson, the intern who witnessed the crime!"

"Marvin Org and Henry Orson…" Apollo said, "are you guys going to do anything about this?"

"Mrs. Wright's ordering a full background check before tomorrow," Ema said, "Oh! I've gotta go! Bye!"

And the phone call terminated.

"So the intern and the boss's son were friends," Mr. Wright said. "Something tells me there's more to this story than we're seeing."

"I agree, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, "this murder isn't as open-and-shut as the police seem to think. Although, there _is _one thing that's bothering me: our client said something very odd when I first met her. 'I was the one who brought Mr. Org his coffee. I should've taste-tested that first.'"

"'I was the one who brought Mr. Org his coffee'…" Mr. Wright said, looking lost in thought. "That's an odd choice of words. Maybe she meant, 'I was the one who made his coffee'?"

"She was very exact, sir," Apollo said.

Mr. Wright nodded. "Yes, she certainly seemed to be when I talked with her earlier…" he said, still looking thoughtful. "It seems that a second visit to Miss Caroline is in order."

They went to the detention center and met with her again. "Mr. Wright, Mr. Justice," she said, looking through her notebook, "you two are _not _scheduled-"

"We know, we know," Apollo said. "Miss Caroline. There's something we need to know the particulars of. Can you tell us about the coffee that killed Mr. Org?"

"Certainly," Caroline said. "Coffee is always made in the exact same way by the same person at the same time, and I always bring that coffee to Mr. Org. It's one of the few duties that _she _hasn't usurped from me."

"And who makes the coffee?" Mr. Wright said.

"Mr. Org himself, of course," Caroline said.

_Wh-what_!? "Wait, you mean the victim made the coffee!?" Apollo said, slamming his hands on the desk, "Miss Caroline, you aren't suggesting-"

"You don't usually have coffee, do you, Mr. Justice?" Caroline said. "We have a coffeemaker that makes drip-brew coffee. Mr. Org always sets the machine in place and when he wants his coffee at the time he always wants his coffee I go and get him his coffee."

"And there were no chances to get poison in the coffee between then and now?" Apollo said.

"Of course not. It's against company policy to tamper with coffee or coffee machines," Caroline said.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Apollo said. "So, is this why you were arrested?"

"They claimed that because I followed the usual rules, that I must've been the murderer," Caroline said. "Specifically, that no one besides me could've retrieved that coffee. Apparently my fingerprints were the only ones on the coffeemaker besides Mr. Org's, of course, and as I was the one who solely held the mug until I gave it to Mr. Org…"

Things were not looking good.

"And where was Mr. Org when you delivered the coffee?" Mr. Wright said.

"He was in a meeting with _her_," Caroline said brusquely, "Morgan Fey."

Mr. Wright nodded. "We have a stop to make, Apollo, that might help us here," he said, "a coffee expert who might know a thing or two about stuff like this."

"Thank you for your time, Miss Caroline," Apollo said, and the two left.

They were picked up by Ema and she drove them to a different, higher security prison. "I can't believe Mrs. Wright's making me play babysitter for the defense," she said as she drove, "a highly skilled and trained detective! Me!"

"It's a shame," Mr. Wright said.

"I know!"

They entered the visitation center and waited about ten minutes when Mr. Wright's "coffee expert" arrived. He was a tall tan man, wearing prison garb, with a strange, three-red-lined visor on his face and pure white hair. "Wright," he said, "come for a family visit to old Uncle Diego?" He chuckled dryly and held up a cup of steaming coffee that Apollo was sure hadn't been there before. "Or did something come up that needed my help- again?"

"Sorry, Armando," Mr. Wright said, taking the seat opposite the man, "but it's the latter."

Armando smirked and sipped his coffee. "I thought your kids suddenly looked older," he said. "Now, what's wrong?"

"The murder victim of our case was killed by poisoned coffee," Apollo said. Armando nodded. "And our client's been arrested because she was the only one with the opportunity to poison him…"

"What kind of coffee did the victim use?" Armando said. "Drip?"

"Yes," Ema said, stepping up to stand next to Apollo. "Electrical coffeemaker."

"Hmph. Fool. Never drink that unless you have no choice," Armando said, and he glanced down (well, he angled his head down) at the coffee in his mug. "Like me… oh well. That's life: bitter and acidic like badly-made prison coffee."

He somehow chugged the cup of coffee and then slammed the mug down. "I'm already aware of the basic facts of this case," Armando said, smiling, "I had certain contracts with Org and his company, actually. Used me to test new strains of coffee beans in prison. They worked a deal out with the state."

"I see," Apollo said, "so about getting poison into the coffeemaker?"

"That's easy enough," Armando said, "just have the poison in the pot to begin with. If you can prove there was poison in the pot when Org's secretary started pouring coffee out, then you can prove any witness who said she did that wrong."

"There's one problem with that, though," Ema said. "The pot was clean, and other people drank from the same coffee batch. It was only Mr. Org's cup that was poisoned."

Armando smirked. "Indeed?" he said. He raised the cup of coffee to his head (steam was coming off of it again… had he somehow refilled it?) and drank from it. Then he lowered the cup and said, "never assume that just because something is simple, that it's the truth. That's one of my rules."

"I… see," Ema said, "that doesn't explain anything, Mr. Godot."

"You'd be surprised at the kinds of lengths people are willing to go for murder sometimes," Armando said flatly. "Wright doesn't take murderers as clients, I know that. The only time he did was an exception, and I would've done the same thing if I was in his shoes."

"But someone being Mr. Wright's client doesn't make them innocent," Ema said.

"No, but it's the general trend," Armando said. "If you think this is going to be easy, or if the prosecutor thinks this is going to be easy, they're wrong. There are things about Mr. Org that he kept close to his chest. I can tell… that man's past is as bitter as the coffee that killed him." He drank from his coffee again.

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Armando?" Mr. Wright said.

"Before this case is over, I expect to see you in court," Armando said. "The secretary being the killer is too simple and too easy for a man like Gus Org."

"What would you have to testify in court about, though?" Apollo said.

Armando smiled once again. "It's almost time for me to return to my cold, hard cell," Armando said. He chuckled once. "Just think," he said, "two years left… and then I'm free. Don't know what I'll do with my life…"

"What does that have to do with Org?" Apollo said, feeling a little frustrated at Armando's evasiveness.

"…Marvin M. Org, is all I'll say," Armando said. "There's a specific reason that I, and only I, can really be involved in telling you what happened there. But it all goes back eight years."

Armando got up and left with one of the guards after that. "So, there's a connection between him and Org," Ema said, "I'll have to tell Mrs. Wright about that…"

"I can tell her," Mr. Wright said. The three walked outside and got back in Ema's car to return to WAA. "And it seems like Armando also knows more than he's letting on."

"Mr. Godot was a prosecutor," Ema said, "eight years ago. I'll look over his old cases. Maybe that's related."

"Probably," Apollo said, "although he won't be brought in unless we can prove that Org's son is related to this crime."

"And there's something else interesting," Mr. Wright said, "Armando mentioned that 'the secretary being the killer is too simple and too easy for a man like Gus Org'. I think we'll need to pry into the victim himself tomorrow or the next day."

"There's nothing we can do today?" Apollo said.

Mr. Wright shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said, "Org's divorced and his son's dead. Caroline already told the police about him, but she worships authority and order so she might be a little biased."

"Org's past is shady, like Mr. Godot said," Ema added, "but right now that's not important to the case."

"So we need to make it important," Apollo said, "well, me and Mr. Wright."

"Thanks, Apollo," Ema said dryly.

"Exactly," Mr. Wright said.

"Oh, and Mr. Wright?"

"Yes, Apollo?"

"Why does Ema call him Mr. Godot while he's Uncle Diego to your kids?"

"…that's a _long _story, Apollo…"

By the time they got back to WAA, Apollo had learned about the man who had been Diego Armando. He was aware, of course, about prosecutor Godot on some level, since he was one of the last prosecutors Mr. Wright faced down before his disbarment, but the story of Armando was actually kind of depressing. "And after Iris left prison and we got married, we decided to visit Armando and had to bring Trucy with us," Mr. Wright was recounting, "she was fascinated with him and before long he was 'Uncle Diego' to her. And that stuck with the other kids."

"I see," Apollo said. "Well, great home life, boss, but I don't think that has much bearing-"

"You did ask!" Ema said, cutting him off.

She dropped them off at WAA. It was already rather late in the afternoon, the trip to the prison having taken some time, and Trucy was waiting for them. "Daddy! Polly!" she said in greeting, "where've you guys been? Mommy just said you had a case…"

"Is your mother home with your siblings now?" Mr. Wright said.

Trucy shook her head. "Aunt Gumshoe's watching them!" she said cheerfully. Mr. Wright, who'd sunk into a couch, bolted up. "And Mommy should be home soon, I think…"

"I-I hope," he said, "uh, Apollo, can you stay here for a little! I know Maggey means well, but…"

And he ran out the door. "Daddy's kind of afraid of Aunt Gumshoe watching the twins," Trucy said. "So, I heard you drove around with Ema a lot today?"

"Yeah, so?" Apollo said, taking Mr. Wright's vacant seat.

"Well, I was talking with Pearl, my friend from Kurain village, and she was saying that you and Ema would make a cute couple!" Trucy said, practically bouncing on her feet.

"…_WHAT!?_" Apollo said, "Trucy, that's my personal life! You and your friend keep your nose out of it!"

"Keep out of what, Mr. Justice?" a new voice said sweetly from behind Apollo.

Apollo twisted around to see a teenaged girl in a strange, Japanese-style outfit with brown hair and hair-loops that kid of looked like a heart. "You are?" Apollo said.

"Pearl Fey," the girl replied. Pearl… oh. Morgan's daughter.

"Mr. Wright's sister-in-law, right?" Apollo said.

Pearl frowned. "If I had my way, I would've been his cousin-in-law… I think?" she said, looking somewhat confused, biting her thumbnail.

"Uh, right," Apollo said. Apparently it wasn't just him who had to deal with Pearl's love life interventionism before. "You're Trucy's friend? And you decided to come here with her?"

"Yeah!" Trucy said, "Pearl's gonna help me with my magic tricks!"

"We're going to send a ticket to you and your special someone!" Pearl said cheerfully.

Apollo's eye twitched. "I don't need your matchmaking services, Yente," he said, and he stood up. "If you'll excuse me, ladies…"

The door opened again. "Crisis averted," Mr. Wright said, "Gumshoe's watching them now too, so no bad luck I hope- oh, hi, Pearls!"

"Hi, Mr. Nick!" Pearl said.

"They're trying to pair me up with Ema," Apollo said.

"Pearls does that," Mr. Wright said. "C'mon. Maybe you should indulge her?"

"Ema's just a friend, boss. Just a friend," Apollo said firmly. Pearl and Trucy, meanwhile, had retired to a corner to whisper to each other.

"Well, Iris'll be by to pick us up soon," Mr. Wright said. "Maybe it's about time I learn to drive after all… in the mean time, Apollo. I want a word with you."

"Yes, boss?"

"Don't be afraid to go after the prosecution's theories in court tomorrow," Mr. Wright said.

Why would he be afraid of that? "With all due respect, sir, your wife's not very intimidating," Apollo said.

Mr. Wright smiled. "She didn't get her position through intimidation, Apollo," Mr. Wright said, "she's known for her thoroughness. No stone unturned. It wasn't a surprise to hear they searched the coffee pot too."

"Well, ok, boss," Apollo said. "Whatever you say."

"There is one thing, though, Apollo," Mr. Wright added, "be wary of accusing someone of murder without any evidence either. She'll have a plan set up for it. And, just in case you think of it, no. She's not the killer, and don't you dare even suggest that in court."

_I'm not you, Mr. Wright. I'm not the one who accuses rival prosecutors! _Apollo thought, feeling exasperated. "Yes sir," he said wearily instead. "So, don't be afraid to act like my normal self, because you won't punish me, right?"

"Yes. Just do your job," Mr. Wright said. A car honked outside. "Goodnight, Apollo. See you tomorrow." And then he, Pearl, and Trucy left the office, leaving Apollo to lock up.

Well, it seemed it was time to get ready for the first trial of the new year. Time to find out who Org really was and what connection his nebulous past had to the murder…

* * *

**A/N: And time for my own casefic. Now, I want to get something clear to start with: I am currently writing an AA fanfic with my beta reader, Aireyverkhovensky. This is not it. She only beta-tested it. So don't necessarily expect the other fanfic to be the same as this one.**

**I think you can guess the pairings in this fanfic for the romantic elements, at least, but here they are: Phoenix/Iris and Apollo/Ema. Please feel free to review.**

**I also apologize if Apollo isn't sarcastic enough.**


	2. Trial, Day 1

_January 12, 9: 39 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

"Hmm… this trial seems to be on schedule," Caroline told Apollo and Mr. Wright, checking her notebook. "Yes, this is good."

"It's _your trial_," Apollo said. He couldn't believe this woman!

"Actually, come to think of it, how are you telling the time?" Mr. Wright asked Caroline.

Caroline gave him a sharp glance. "I am using the courtroom clock," she said, "I usually use a specially-tuned clock on my phone, but the police took that away."

"I… I see," Apollo said. Why didn't she just wear a watch? "So, let me guess. Ema's up first?"

The door opened and Trucy slipped into the lobby. "Hi Polly, hi Daddy," she said, "Mommy's almost ready too."

"Who's side are you going to be on, anyways?" Apollo said.

"I'm in the gallery with Pearl," Trucy said, "but if you need my help, Polly, I'll help!"

"No… I think I'm fine," Apollo said. He wasn't sure how helpful Trucy would be right now anyways. Or at least, Mr. Wright was probably more useful; it wasn't like Trucy was a bad co-counsel or anything, but her father was more experienced. "Now, as I was saying-"

"It's going to be a while before we hear from Ema," Mr. Wright said. "Actually, it'll probably be a while before we hear from anyone at the scene. I told you yesterday, my wife's known for her thoroughness. And that means firmly establishing evidence."

"How long can that take?" Apollo said, "you know the judge."

Mr. Wright and Trucy glanced at each other and then Mr. Wright smiled at Apollo. "_We _know the Judge," Mr. Wright said, "but Iris hasn't seen him at work for years by now…"

"Court is about to begin!" a guard called, "will the defense and the defendant please enter the courtroom?"

"Good luck, Polly!" Trucy called as they entered the courtroom, "I hope you'll need it!"

* * *

_January 12, 10:00 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #2_

Apollo and Mr. Wright took their positions at the defense's desk while Mrs. Wright took hers at the prosecution desk, standing up straight and with a set, determined look as she eyed Apollo. For a moment, Apollo wondered how else she actually acted in court, if this was a facade or her usual behavior, but his thoughts cut off when the Judge banged his gavel and announced, "The trial of Bertha Caroline is now in session!"

And then the Judge took a look across the courtroom and added, "say, who's the new person at the prosecution stand?"

"You… don't remember me, your Honor?" Mrs. Wright said, glancing down at her desk momentarily. "Weren't you at the recent higher court trial of Kristoph Gavin?"

"Oh, yes, I was there," the Judge said, nodding. "…wait, weren't you on trial at some point?"

Mrs. Wright sighed. "Yes, your Honor," she said, "my name is Iris Wright. I'm a prosecutor on the higher court who's been called here by Mr. Edgeworth to take this case. I was also a murder suspect eight years ago."

"And you were the priest at our wedding, your Honor," Mr. Wright said.

The Judge scratched his head, and then said, "oh! Yes, now I remember!" Then he glared at both sides of the court (what, could he not decide who to be unfairly biased against!?) and said, "well, we've wasted enough time with that. Mrs. Wright, Mr. Justice, your opening statements?"

"Your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution seeks to prove that the murderer in this case is the defendant, Bertha Caroline, that she had the motive, opportunity, and means to do so, all beyond a shadow of a doubt."

The Judge nodded. "Mr. Justice?"

"The defense seeks to prove that Miss Caroline was not the murderer in this case and that said murderer presumably set up Miss Caroline to take their fall," Apollo said.

The Judge nodded again. "I see. Mrs. Wright, your first witness?"

"Of course, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution calls Dr. Ivan Kamosinko, the coroner for this case."

And so began the most boring three hours of Apollo's adult life. He had no idea that court could be so unbearable, because Mrs. Wright didn't seem to be concerned with actually calling the witnesses yet, leaving Apollo to slowly cross-examine her scientific witnesses. Of the four, Dr. Kamosinko was the most memorable, a bushy black-bearded Russian man wearing medical scrubs who apparently carried scalpels around in a bag on his belt. He was also memorable because he seemed to purposely take as long as possible while explaining the autopsy and the cause of Org's death in his broken English presumably because he hated Apollo.

By the end of the three hours, Mrs. Wright had officially presented the prosecution's scientific evidence: Org had died of cyanide poisoning, and his body had years-old scars that the coroner also noted but stated in his report had no impact on the current case, meaning, they would come up if Apollo did his job right (other than that, the victim was your typical slightly overweight older white male with black, graying hair and sideburns). Further, the precise time of the victim's poisoning was explained, and a forensic scientist explained how the police found and examined the fingerprints and cyanide on or in the coffee mug and came to the conclusion that Caroline was the murderer.

During the testimonies, Apollo did his best to pay attention without letting his eyes glaze over. Mr. Wright seemed much more at ease and simply listened politely to the witnesses, chiming in once and a while to remind Apollo to begin his cross-examination. The Judge, however, seemed half-asleep, something that resulted in Mrs. Wright occasionally having to wake the Judge up by slamming her hands on her desk. He would bolt awake, probably expecting an actual confrontation, and then Mrs. Wright would have the witness resume the testimony.

And speaking of Mrs. Wright, all she had done so far was politely ask the witnesses questions. To be honest, she was a pretty boring prosecutor. At least she was yet to do anything infuriating, beyond calling all these witnesses to explain something that took maybe five minutes at most in a normal court session.

The last witness was dismissed, and Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution calls its next witness to the stand." Ema took the stand, adjusting her glasses and smiling at the court, probably because surely now they were going to get somewhere. "Name and career?"

"Ema Skye, police detective," Ema said cheerfully.

"Detective Skye, could you please explain to the court why you initially arrested the defendant?" Mrs. Wright said, as impassive as ever.

"Yes, ma'am," Ema said. She held her glasses in one hand, smiling smugly at the court, and began: "We were first called to the scene of the crime by an intern at the company Mr. Org worked at. The phone call came in at around 4:30 PM, and took us 10 minutes to arrive, but by then Mr. Org was already dead."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "As explained by Dr. Kamosinko, death would've been near instantaneous," she said, and she added, eyeing the Judge, "just in case the court has forgotten."

The Judge coughed. "Please continue, Detective Skye," Apollo said.

"Sure. Anyway, we arrived at the company and began our initial investigation. All employees were detained until we could make an initial arrest. During the course of investigation, we discovered that the victim's senior secretary Bertha Caroline had brought him the poisoned coffee and was meeting with the victim at the time of his death."

The Judge nodded. "That does seem to be reasonable grounds for an initial arrest," the Judge said. "Mr. Justice, you may begin your cross-examination."

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. "Detective Skye, first, when was the coffee pot investigated? Can you prove it wasn't a random poisoning?"

"Well," Ema said, "not quite, Apollo… uh, Mr. Justice. Of course we confiscated the coffee pot and mug first, but they had to be sent to the crime lab. It wasn't until we got the results back that we even arrested Ms. Caroline. As for the random poisoning…" She glanced at Mrs. Wright.

"We thought of that as well, actually," Mrs. Wright said. "While I had planned on asking Detective Gumshoe to also testify, that may be a poor decision on my part, and I think his Honor is falling asleep again."

"Wh-what!?" the Judge said, bolting up, "of-of course not!"

"In any case," Mrs. Wright said, "I suppose I'll have to explain in Detective Gumshoe's place. The reason that this was not a random poisoning is that the poison was found in a sugar container which was owned by the defendant and thrown, wrapped in a handkerchief, into a restroom trash can. If the intent had been to randomly kill someone, there was no point in the murderer hiding the container."

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, his first real chance to finally object. The Judge leaned forward, his eyes widening. "Mrs. Wright," he said when she looked at him, "do you expect us to buy such a weak argument?"

For a second, Mrs. Wright looked blankly at Apollo. And then she began smiling, and Apollo felt a chill go down his back. "It's nice to see you finally take interest, Mr. Justice," she said, sounding as polite as ever, "and yes, I expect the court to understand my reasoning."

"Yes, well, it shouldn't be flawed!" Apollo said, trying to stop himself from backpedaling under the force of her vaguely sinister smile, despite the fact that she looked entirely benign. Was that woman related to a demon or something? "Ahem. Mrs. Wright, last night I spoke with our defendant, who testified as to the following: that she brought the coffee to Mr. Org, following exact company policy. Therefore, I think it's rather obvious that there was no chance for her to dispose of that poison container."

"I know it's your job to believe in the testimony of your witness, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said lightly, maybe even arrogantly, and not even looking at him or the Judge now as she toyed with her hair, "but I'm afraid that the defendant's word is not worth much in these courts. While, of course, you can call her to testimony if you want, as it is without evidence you can't substantiate anything she says."

"Mr. Wright," Apollo said quietly to Mr. Wright, "what's your wife doing?"

"Apparently a few of her sister's mannerisms are genetic," Mr. Wright replied, equally quietly. "But don't worry. It just means that the trial's really starting to happen."

"I gathered that, thanks," Apollo said.

"Mr. Justice. If you have evidence to support your claim that Ms. Caroline did not stop at the bathroom, please present it," the Judge said.

Apollo thought for a moment. Was there any evidence so far that supported Caroline's claim? "I assume there are no security recordings?"

"If there were, we'd already know exactly who killed Org," Ema said.

Apollo thought for a second. And then he smiled. "Of course I have evidence, your Honor."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Why, it's the container itself," Apollo said. "Detective Skye, there were no fingerprints on the container, were there?"

"Of course not," Ema said. "There was a cloth, remember?"

"What are you getting at?" Mrs. Wright asked.

"Well, it's simple, Mrs. Wright. If the killer was willing to hide their fingerprints on the poison container… _why wouldn't they hide them on the coffee cup_!?" Apollo yelled, slamming his hands on the desk.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "The coffee cup was used every day by the victim and the defendant. Her fingerprints on the cup would not be a surprise!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted back. "If that's the case, Mrs. Wright, then why did the defendant tell me, in front of a second witness as well, that she was the one who _delivered and made the coffee_!? All that would do is make her more suspicious!"

Mrs. Wright cringed backwards for just a moment. Then, regaining her composure, she slammed a hand on the desk. "Mr. Justice!" she said, looking determined again, "the poison was added to the mug. The only thing your suspect is doing is proving her guilt."

"Objection!" Mr. Wright shouted suddenly. "We asked her if she was the murderer. She said no. The magatama did not react at all."

"Objection! Magatamas can be fooled, Phoenix," Mrs. Wright said.

The Judge blinked. "What?"

"Nothing, your Honor," they said together.

_Mr. Wright's right, though… if Caroline wasn't the murderer, then… _"Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "I think we need to know more about the coffee before we continue to your witness, unless, of course, they saw the poison being added."

Mrs. Wright smiled again. "I think our next witness will be able to clear that up easily," she said. "Detective Skye, you are dismissed."

Ema nodded and left the stand. "Before we continue," the Judge said, "let's have a… half-hour recess. I need to take a na- mull over the case for a little."

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. Mrs. Wright nodded, but said nothing.

* * *

_January 12, 1:45 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

"You did a great job in there, Polly!" Trucy said as soon as Apollo and Mr. Wright entered the lobby with Caroline. "Mr. Hat has a song he wants to sing in your honor!"

"Not now, Trucy," Apollo said. "But while we're waiting, Miss Caroline. I want to know something."

"Yes?" Caroline said.

"Was there any way you might've accidentally added poisoned sugar to Mr. Org's coffee?" Apollo said. Hopefully poisoning people was against company policy, but he wasn't too sure.

"Mr. Org only drinks black coffee," Caroline said. "That sugar shaker was for me, but I lost it some time ago."

"What if that poison wasn't intended for Mr. Org?" Trucy said. "What if that poison was intended for Miss Caroline?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Trucy," Apollo said, "that's the dumbest… wait… Trucy, you're a genius!"

"I think we all know that, Apollo."

"This is exactly what we need," Apollo said, "we need to prove that there's a chance that the coffee was supposed to be poisoned randomly, and that Org was just the first victim!"

"But that wouldn't work because she wouldn't add sugar to Mr. Org's coffee in the first place," Mr. Wright said. "That's what 'black coffee' means."

"I know that, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, "but it's not a matter of that sugar shaker. It really all depends on the next witness… and if we play our cards right, Mr. Wright, then I might just be able to prove that Mr. Org wasn't necessarily the target..."

* * *

_January 12, 2:18 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #2_

Court was back in session. Mrs. Wright was back at her stand, while Mr. Wright and Apollo waited at the defense. The Judge, however, was nowhere to be seen. "I believe his Honor will be here shortly!" the bailiff called, and then he ran out of the room.

"So," Apollo said, "now what do we do?"

"We wait for the Judge," Mr. Wright said.

"Phoenix," Mrs. Wright said, "tonight, you should invite Mr. Justice to come to dinner with us. I want to know more about him and your new hire."

"Athena won't be in the country for a while," Mr. Wright replied, "and I guess what happens tonight depends on what happens today."

"It's getting rather late, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, not commenting on Mrs. Wright's thinly-veiled attempt to find out more about anything she could use against him in court. "Mrs. Wright, do you have the witness ready?"

"Of course," Mrs. Wright said. And then the Judge shambled into his chair and yawned widely.

"Ahem," he said, "Court is now- court is now-" and he yawned widely again, rubbed his eyes, and said, "court is now in session for the trial of Bertha Caroline…" And then he slammed his gavel down, missed, and hit his hand, causing a loud "YEOWCH!"

"Ahem," Mrs. Wright said. "The prosecution calls Henry M. Orson to the stand."

Henry Orson was obviously a rich kid. While thin and handsome, there was also a certain amount of smugness simply radiating off of him. His jeans and sweatshirt were obviously supposed to be of a higher-level quality than the plebeian wear; Apollo wasn't sure if the large gold "Ivy U" on his sweatshirt was supposed to glitter like gold or _was _gold. He was unshaven, and his long hair fell down his back. "Your name and occupation, please," Mrs. Wright said.

"…_Anything_," he said, his voice overflowing with seduction, "for a lady, Miss Prosecutor." Apollo could almost hear the cheesy romantic jazz. "My name is Henry Orson," he said, "I am a Media Relations major at Ivy University, and a connoisseur of smokin' hot bods."

"You can connoisseur on your own time," Mrs. Wright said, looking somewhat queasy, "and please, cut out the act. This is court, not a night club."

Orson smiled at her. "Anything… for a lady."

"Ahem!" the Judge said, "there will be no seducing in court! Witness, please-"

"SHUT IT, GRAMPS!" Orson suddenly snarled, and he slammed his fist on the stand so hard it was visibly dented. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY!?"

"Oh! I- I didn't mean to offend you!" the Judge said, wide-eyed, "I'm sorry that I-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "Witness, the prosecutor is married! Please give us your testimony."

But Orson's eyes just lit up. "Even better," he said, his voice back to exuding machismo, "even _better_."

"Where's Franziska when you need her?" Mr. Wright muttered.

"Mr. Orson, please just give us your testimony," Mrs. Wright said. She still seemed to be cringing. "Tell us about what you saw."

"What I told that awesome lady detective?" Orson said, "sure thing!"

He pulled out a comb and began running it through his hair. "Witness," the Judge said, "please testify. This is not a beauty parlor."

"Hmph!" Orson threw his comb at the Judge and then leaned forward on the stand, his elbows propped up as he stared at Mrs. Wright. "Ahem… what I told the lady detective? _Well_…"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "Mr. Orson, face the Judge! Not me!"

Orson sighed. "Yes, ma'am," he said. And he pivoted to leer at the Judge instead.

"This is like Larry all over again, only this time he's worse…" Mr. Wright grumbled.

"It all happened on Monday," Orson said, finally starting. "I was running an errand to Mr. Org's office for Mrs. Fey. I walked out of the elevator to see Miss Caroline, with her back turned to me, at the coffee stand against the window on the right wall, next to Mr. Org's office. She sprinkled something into his coffee, and then put the sugar shaker into her pocket. Then she walked into the meeting room. Meanwhile, I delivered the errand to Mr. Org's office and returned, but not before getting a cup of joe myself."

"I see!" the Judge said, "this is a very illuminating testimony! Mrs. Wright, you should've started with this one!"

"I'm not so sure about that, your Honor," Mrs. Wright replied; she still looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure how well this testimony even holds up…"

"Very well," the Judge said, "Mr. Justice. You may begin your cross-examination."

"First, Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "could you please repeat why, exactly, you were running that errand to Mr. Org's office?"

"Of course, spiny," Orson said. "My boss, Mrs. Morgan Fey, asked me to deliver an errand-"

"Hold it! Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "were you directly asked by Fey to deliver the errand?"

"Exactamundo, spiny," Orson said.

"I see," Apollo said, "and at what time was this?"

"She had just told me, spiny," Orson said, looking down at his hand and admiring his fingernails (or at least, that's what it looked like). "She asked me to deliver a report to Mr. Org's office."

And the court room's usual low level of discussion died off. The Judge stared wide-eyed. Mrs. Wright face-palmed. Mr. Wright watched. Apollo said nothing. Orson looked up. "What?" he said.

"At the time of the murder," Apollo said smugly, "Morgan Fey was _meeting with the victim_!"

Orson wailed and recoiled. "Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, her composure regained, "perhaps Fey simply left a memo-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "if Fey had left a memo, why did the witness not mention that and say that she told him herself? To tell such an obvious lie would be completely foolish!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted back, "for all we know, the witness is a fool himself!"

"Objection! If that was true, then that just puts even more doubt onto the witness's testimony! If he made such an obvious lie, who's to say that he didn't provide any more lies!" Apollo shouted.

"Hold it!" Orson wailed, "I just- I just remembered wrong! You understand, don't you? This is a highly stressful situation!"

"Hm… yes, it is. Why, sometimes I'm so stressed out I forget my own name!" the Judge said. "Mrs. Wright, the prosecution's opinion?"

"I-it's not out of question that he misremembered," Mrs. Wright said, "and it's better that he stay on the stand so that we can learn the whole truth, so…"

_Oh, come on! Why don't _we _get an opinion? _Apollo thought as the Judge nodded.

"Please amend your testimony to reflect the fact that Mrs. Fey could not have asked you directly to deliver the errand," the Judge said.

"U-uh, yes," Orson said, and he pulled another comb from nowhere out and combed his hair, seemingly calming him down. "As I was saying, Mrs. Fey asked me in a memo to deliver a report to Mr. Org's office. Yes, that's what happened. I still saw Miss Caroline put sugar in the coffee, of course, and saw her put the sugar container back in her pocket."

"Hold it!" Apollo shouted. "Mr. Orson, could you describe the container for us?"

"It was a glass sugar container," Orson replied, and he smirked.

"Nothing else?" Apollo said. He could see Mrs. Wright tensing up- obviously, she knew what was coming.

"What else is there to remember?" Orson said. "She put sugar into the coffee and then put the container into her pocket."

"Is that so, Mr. Orson?" Apollo said, crossing his arms. "You are aware that the poison bottle was found in a trash can, wrapped in a handkerchief, Mr. Orson?"

"Wh-WHAT!?" Orson screamed, and cringed away from the stand again.

"What a reliable witness," the Judge commented.

"_Now _he notices…" Mr. Wright muttered.

"Not now, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. "Mr. Orson. You did not see the defendant use a handkerchief?"

"She must've been wearing gloves!" Orson said, "I didn't see any handkerchief!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, pointing. "Mr. Orson," he then said, taking the autopsy report out and keeping it in one hand while he put his other arm behind his back, "according to the testimony of the police, the fingerprints of the victim and the defendant were found on the coffee cup that held the poison. If what you are saying is true, _then there's no way that she had gloves on!_"

"WH-WHAT!?" Orson shrieked.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright called, and she slammed the desk. "Mr. Justice! There's a high likelihood that that cup was not washed between work on Monday and work on Friday!"

"Objection!" Apollo yelled, "Mrs. Wright, likelihoods are not facts! If you're going to present that theory, _present evidence to prove it_!"

Mrs. Wright recoiled and winced again. The Judge frowned. "Well, Mrs. Wright?" he said, "do you have evidence that the coffee cup was not washed?"

"Your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "while we did ask ourselves this, in relation to the case, we had a small problem in that the coffee cups are cleaned every day by the defendant. According to her testimony, she had to leave work early last Friday for a medical appointment and when she got to work on Monday she had to clean out the cup herself before refilling it."

"And how long did this take?" Apollo asked.

"She said it took her three minutes and twenty-two seconds exactly," Mrs. Wright said. "By using the sink in the bathroom."

"Three minutes and twenty-two seconds when the coffee-making machine was not being watched?" Apollo asked.

"As already stated, there was no poison in the coffee pot, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright replied, "I hesitate to present this, but…"

The Judge nodded. "The testimony of Miss Caroline is accepted as court evidence," he said. "But I want to add a question myself: if the cup was washed, did the defendant purposely leave her fingerprints on the cup because it would be expected?"

"Assuming the cup was washed, that is also a likely explanation, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said. "It would raise more questions if the cup had only had the victim's fingerprints on them."

"Like it or not, she has a point," Mr. Wright commented.

"Yeah, thanks boss," Apollo said privately. Then, in his normal voice, he said, "Your Honor, that doesn't clear up one thing: the witness's testimony."

Orson, who'd been combing his hair while the lawyers argued, promptly perked up. "On second thought," he said, "I _did _see her take out a handkerchief. I just thought it was a glove for some reason."

"'For some reason'?" Apollo said, "as in, you just now decided that you saw it?"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright said, "Mr. Justice, please refrain from accusing the witness of perjury for now. Believe me, after this trial he _will _face consequences for his shoddy testimonies."

"Wh-what!?" Orson said, breaking out into a sweat, "l-lady-"

"Mr. Orson," the Judge said, "put that out of your mind. For now, please focus on what you saw. Now, please tell us the exact moment you saw the culprit place the poison in the coffee."

"Of course, your Honor!" Orson said, and he leaned forward to leer at the court again. "I was walking towards Mr. Org's office when I saw it. Miss Caroline, holding a sugar shaker in a hand with a handkerchief, shook the sugar into the coffee. Then she walked towards the meeting room."

"I see," the Judge said, "and you… didn't think to find out why she was using a handkerchief?"

"I'm new to the company, hired last Friday," Orson said, "so maybe it was just some sort of tradition. You know, that Caroline woman was very focused on 'company policy' or something." He chuckled. "Although I'll admit, I thought it was weird that he'd have sugar. He takes it black."

"That's odd," Mr. Wright commented, "how does he know that?"

"Please begin the cross-examination," the Judge declared.

"Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "you just stated that you were a new hire. Was Monday your first day of work?"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "This has no bearing. We only need to know what he saw."

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "this has everything to do with the case! This information may lead to the revelation of crucial contradictions!"

The Judge nodded. "I see," he said, "Mrs. Wright?"

"…if that is the case, then the prosecution has no objections," Mrs. Wright said, her face blank.

"Please answer the question," the Judge said.

"Monday was my first day of work, yes," Orson said. "I spent the day being oriented to the office. I worked on the seventeenth floor and was also shown around the eighteenth floor."

"Is that so, Mr. Orson?" Apollo said smugly, "then could you please answer this little question for us: _how did you know that Mr. Org liked black coffee!?_"

Orson took out his comb, combed his hair a few times whilst frowning, and then flung the comb into the air and shrieked. "Answer the question, witness!" the Judge ordered.

"I- uh, Miss Caroline told me-" Orson said.

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "she would have no reason to tell you!"

"I- well, she did! Lady lawyer?" Orson said pleadingly.

Mrs. Wright brought her hand up to her mouth and looked down, apparently thinking. And then she looked up. "The prosecution has no objections," she said, "it's very unlikely that the defendant could've told you anything, when you worked on the 18th floor and the defendant on the 19th. If anyone would've told you, it was Mrs. Fey."

Orson recoiled. "GAH!" he shouted, "no!"

"Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "is there anything you've said that is _not _a lie?"

"I-I saw her poison the coffee!" Orson wailed, "I really did! I-I even saw her enter the bathroom!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, pointing, "if you had, why didn't you report it!?"

"I- I- I-"

"This witness is clearly incapable of telling the truth," Mrs. Wright said. She slammed her hand on the desk. "Witness! You will describe to us how you knew that Mr. Org liked black coffee!"

"N-NO!" Orson screamed, "I-I WON'T!"

"Then you will face the force of my gavel!" the Judge declared.

"I-I-I… I learned it from Morgan Fey, yeah!" Orson said.

"Hold it!" Apollo shouted, "was this at the same time as when she asked you to deliver that errand?"

"Yes!" Orson said. At Apollo's look of triumph, he wailed and said, "I mean no! No! It was before then! Mrs. Fey told me!"

"Objection!" Apollo said, "Miss Caroline is the only one who delivers coffee to Mr. Org! If you doubt that, then we can ask Mrs. Fey herself!"

"N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Orson began slamming his head into an increasingly-dented witness stand.

"Bailiff! Detain him!"

The bailiff grabbed Orson and pulled him away before he could do any more damage. Finally, he was allowed to stumble back onto the stand. "I-I'll talk," he said, "I-I didn't see any poisoner. I just saw Miss Caroline enter the meeting room with a cup of coffee. Then I entered the office, opened up the second drawer, and took out the top pages to the 12-2 Report. I brought them into the bathroom and lit them on fire and flushed the ashes away."

The crowd was loudly conversing at this news, and the Judge silenced them with three knocks of his gavel. "And about the black coffee?" the Judge asked.

"I knew what kind of coffee Mr. Org liked from his son, who I knew from out east," Orson admitted. "We destroyed a maize field and planned on fire-bombing a GMO laboratory last month, but we were arrested and since then we've tried to turn a new leaf."

"Mr. Orson," Mrs. Wright said, "why did you burn that report? It would be more than easy for a new copy to be made."

"I-I thought there was only one," Orson said. But Apollo could tell that he was lying: he had stated playing with his comb in his hand, nervously running it along his fingers.

"Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "why are you suddenly so nervous?"

"I- I-" Orson sighed and collapsed onto the witness stand. "I admit it! He wrote something down on it! I got the job to try and protect my sweetheart, but he'd written something down on that she didn't want anyone to see. I went and found it and got rid of it."

"And what was written on it?" Mrs. Wright said.

"…I'm not telling," Orson said, "find me in contempt of court all you want, I invoke the right to remain silent."

"And your sweetheart?" Apollo said.

"…ask Marvin Org," Orson said, "because you're not getting it out of me." The bailiff lead him out of the courtroom.

"Well," the Judge said, "it seems that the prosecution has failed to prove that Miss Caroline actually is the murderer."

"Yes, sir," Mrs. Wright said, "however, this is one final point I wish to bring up: the motive for the crime. And for that, I wish to call the defendant to the stand herself."

"You wish to attempt to have our client incriminate herself?" Mr. Wright said.

"No," Mrs. Wright said blandly, "I have some other questions to ask her."

Caroline took the stand and began looking through her notebook. "It seems that answering all questions truthfully is part of company policy," Caroline said, "I am not afraid to answer any questions."

"Mrs. Wright," the Judge said, "before we begin, you are aware that in this court the defense cross-examines?"

"Of course, your Honor," Mrs. Wright replied. "I'm sure they'll ask the right questions to ask the truth." And she sent a Significant Look at Mr. Wright, who gulped. "Won't they."

"Yes, dear," Mr. Wright muttered.

_Oh boy_… "Miss Caroline," Apollo said, "I suppose we might as well get this out of the way. Yesterday, in a conversation with me and Detective Skye, you admitted that you had some animosity towards Mr. Org, correct?"

"Yes, that is true," Caroline said. "And now, if your Honor will permit it, I shall testify truthfully."

The Judge nodded.

"Five months ago, Mr. Org hired a woman named Morgan Fey, a criminal accomplice who had been released from prison some six years ago and now began work as a minor secretary," Caroline said, consulting her notebook. "Fey somehow managed to rise through the ranks to become the number two in our department for secretarial work, after myself of course. However, at the meeting at which Mr. Org was killed, Mrs. Fey was apparently going to become promoted and take my place."

The Judge nodded. "So, you killed her over a simple rivalry?" he asked.

"No, your Honor," Caroline said curtly, "to kill a superior is to lose your job. If I was to poison anyone, it would be Fey, but I do not poison people. Causing disruptions at work is against company policy."

"I-I see," the Judge said, "your cross-examination, Mr. Justice?"

"Make sure you find out as much as possible," Mr. Wright advised. Mrs. Wright was still glaring in their direction.

_Feel free to say no, boss, _Apollo thought. But still, he pressed on: "Miss Caroline," Apollo said, "yesterday in your testimony you said that your brother died in prison and that, because of that, you would rather Fey die than Mr. Org?"

"Quite correct," Caroline said. "I would not kill anyone, of course, but someone who assisted in a murder is more deserving of death than a man who never did anything wrong. If anyone killed Mr. Org, it was Fey, not me."

"I see!" the Judge said, "that _would _explain the discrepancies if she had been the poisoner! Well, it seems that in light of this theory-"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright said.

_Come on! We were so close!_

"Your Honor, that possibility was also raised during the investigation," Mrs. Wright said, taking a paper out. "However, Fey could not have been the murderer." Then she smiled a little and said, somewhat smugly, "there is one other thing as well, which I'll tell the court first: Mr. Org served time in prison on criminal charges. He was released approximately seven years ago."

"Wh-WHAT!?" Apollo said.

"Mr. Org is no criminal!" Caroline snarled, "criminals never rise to high ranks! Name one person who's seen time behind bars who's in any respectable place in society!"

"_I _served time in prison!" Mrs. Wright shouted back, "for six months!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "that has no bearing on this case, nor does Mr. Org's imprisonment! Clearly, she was unaware of his imprisonment!" Beside him, Mr. Wright frowned.

"Regardless," the Judge said quickly, "unless there's proof that she did or did not know-"

"Objection!" Mr. Wright shouted, "if she is lying, then the defense demands proof of it!"

At first Mrs. Wright said nothing… and then she recoiled, her hair flying behind her (how wasshe _doing_ that?). She recovered and slammed her hand on the desk and said, "while the prosecution cannot prove that the defendant knew that the victim was a former prisoner, that doesn't change the fact that Fey could not have been the murderer!"

The crowd was starting to get louder and louder and the Judge had to swing his gavel several times. "Order! Order! Mrs. Wright, how do you know that Fey couldn't be the criminal?" the Judge said.

"She did not poison him," Caroline said, interrupting before Mrs. Wright even had the chance to open her mouth, "he drank from the coffee shortly after I gave it to him. During the whole time, Fey did not move towards him. It is impossible for her to be the killer, hence why I told Mr. Justice that I was the one who brought him the poison cup, unwittingly." She began to look through her notebook and said, quietly, as if to herself, "perhaps I should've found and taken coffee from the second pot…"

And for a moment, the court room went completely silent.

"From?" the Judge said, wide-eyed.

"The?" Apollo said, in disbelief.

"Second?" Mr. Wright said, looking shocked.

"Pot!?" Mrs. Wright said, recoiling, also looking shocked.

The crowd burst into a massive amount of discussion. "Order! Order! Order! Order!" the Judge said, "Miss Caroline, what's this about a second pot!?"

"There are only two coffee stands in the building, one on the 1st floor and one on the 18th floor," Caroline said, somehow managing to talk over the court's chatter and the Judge furiously pounding his gavel. She waited for the crowd noise to finally die out again and then continued: "in the morning and after lunch, Mr. Org sets up the machine on the 18th floor such that two pots of coffee will be made. When one is done, he goes to set up the other. It's a feature of our machine."

"And there were two coffee pots on the 18th floor at the time of the murder?" Apollo said.

"Oh, no, there was one," Caroline said, "but that wasn't surprising. Sometimes one pot will be brought downstairs while the other remains on the floor. Mr. Org didn't mind so long as he got his coffee."

"Mrs. Wright," the Judge said, "has a second coffee pot been retrieved?"

"N-no, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "the only pot retrieved was the one presented to the court that had no traces of poison."

"Miss Caroline," the Judge said, "did you see where the coffee pot went?"

"When the police arrived, the only pot was the one confiscated by the police," Caroline said, "however, it appeared to be missing quite a lot of coffee. It was no longer at the same level."

"And is the pot cleaned out every day?" Apollo said.

"While it is, I cleaned both," Caroline said, "and Mr. Org brewed both. Our fingerprints should be on both."

The Judge nodded. "Do you have any objections, Mrs. Wright?" the Judge asked.

"No, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, and she sighed. "In the absence of that coffee pot, I'm afraid that we cannot make a conclusive case against the defendant. Reasonable doubt still exists. However, I would like to ask if the defense has any theories as to when and where the coffee pot was switched?"

"Presumably the coffee pot was switched after Miss Caroline delivered the coffee and before the police arrived," Apollo said, "and as for people who had the chance to remove the pot, I can think of one possibility."

"Two," Mr. Wright said.

"Two, Mr. Wright?" the Judge said, "please elaborate."

"Well, the first would be Morgan Fey," Apollo said. _Two? Who was the second one?_ "After the poisoning, she could've switched the pots. It'd be easy enough for her to hide them while Miss Caroline was distracted with the body."

"And the other would be the sweetheart mentioned by Mr. Orson," Mr. Wright said.

"Really? How would she have any connection?" the Judge asked.

"There's no reason for Orson to make things up if he wasn't protecting someone, your Honor," Apollo said. "And he also destroyed that report and seemed to have gotten a job so that he could do that."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "The prosecution will examine what crimes he may have committed," she said, "but in my opinion, it seems that we must first have time to find and investigate this 'sweetheart' as well as the missing coffee pot."

The Judge nodded. "It seems so, Mrs. Wright," the Judge said. "Court will reconvene tomorrow to try and solve the lingering questions of this case: if this was a random poisoning, if Morgan Fey had a hand in this crime, what connection this report had to the murder for Mr. Orson to lie about it and the murder, the sweetheart, and the missing pot. Until those five questions are answered, I cannot make a verdict. Court dismissed!" He swung his gavel down.

* * *

**A/N: Twists and turns are the name of the game here. While some here are obvious, some others might not be as much.**

**On that note, what did you think of Prosecutor Iris Wright? I was sort of aiming for, well, very vanilla. Not really comparable to people like Klavier and Blackquill because she's not really in their league or even their area of the law. That's not to say that I don't have things planned for her. After all, what would be the point of bringing this kind of lawyer in and not using, say, Winston Payne? I did have to try and flesh out the character, though. This isn't the same Iris as the one in 3-5 for obvious reasons.**

**Feel free to review, whether for questions, comments, concerns, or predictions. However, I won't be confirming anything, and this time there shouldn't be any Titanic-sized hints like I dropped in _Reset_.**


	3. Investigation, Day 2

_January 12, 5:31 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

"You were amazing in there, Polly!" Trucy exclaimed when she and Pearl entered the lobby. "Great job holding your own against Mommy."

"Thanks, Trucy," Apollo said, "although, to be honest, we kind of got lucky at the end that Caroline mentioned that second pot…"

"Well, there is one thing I'm wondering about," Pearl said, her thumb up to her mouth, "Mr. Nick, what would my mother have to do with all of this? Why would she want Mr. Org dead?"

"She might not," Apollo said, "it's just a possibility."

"The more likely culprit at this point is that sweetheart," Mr. Wright said, "but I don't know who they are, Pearls."

"Maybe they used a magic trick to make it appear?" Trucy said, and she pulled a coffee pot out of her magic panties. "Ta-da! I got this one from the house!"

"That's nice, Trucy, now put that pot back in your disturbing underwear and help us think," Apollo said. Trucy frowned and did as he said.

"Do you think the criminal record will be important?" Ema said.

Everyone looked up from their thoughts (or turned around, in Trucy's case) to see Ema and Mrs. Wright, the latter of which did not look very happy. "Hello, everyone," she said, "I can't believe I missed something so important…"

"Most places wouldn't have more than one coffee pot," Mr. Wright said quickly.

"No, no, I should've looked," she replied, and then she walked off towards a corner of the room, mumbling to herself. Mr. Wright gave Apollo an apologetic look and walked off after her.

"Mommy doesn't always take losing too well," Trucy said. "But about Mr. Org's criminal record, I think it might be important."

"Mr. Godot certainly seemed to think so," Ema said. "Well, in the mean time, it looks like we might be working late. Court dragged on forever and we need to find that coffeepot…"

"I already have officers scouring the scene," Mrs. Wright said, returning to the group with Mr. Wright. "It won't be long before we find it, assuming it's still there."

"It should be," Ema said, "we searched everyone going in and out, we've had a police presence since the murder two days ago, there's no way that it's gone. Anyway, I did some of that digging I mentioned and I found out where exactly Mr. Godot knew Mr. Org from."

"He prosecuted him," Mrs. Wright said, "eight years ago, almost exactly. He was responsible for Org being sent to prison on what I believe were manslaughter charges."

"Do you think Uncle Diego will have to testify?" Trucy asked.

"I'm tempted to do so…" Mrs. Wright said, clearly thinking again, "Org's files are no longer in court or police records, from what I can find. Part of the purge of cases involving Mr. Armando after he was sentenced to prison."

"The _what_!?" Apollo said, shocked. Why would they-

"After Mr. Armando was imprisoned, there was a cry from people who he had put in prison that he had used illegal methods to put people in prison," Mrs. Wright said, now looking directly at Apollo. "But only three people were able to have their sentences reduced or removed, and of those three, only one was completely let go during his retrial. That man was Gus Org. And as part of his release, his files simply disappeared."

"Word on the street was that they were destroyed so that the humiliation from that trial would be forgotten," Mr. Wright said, "the case against Org ended with him pleading guilty but the decisive evidence that Mr. Armando produced was declared to be 'forged evidence', even though Mr. Armando never did anything like that. But that was shortly after Mr. Blackquill and I fell from grace…"

"The Dark Age of the Law…" Mrs. Wright said, but she did not explain further.

"Well," Apollo said, "we'll see if Mr. Armando has to come in when we find out if that manslaughter charge is connected to this murder or not. Knowing _my _luck, it will be."

"Hear, hear!" Trucy said. "Oh, yeah, you guys are coming for dinner, right? That's what Pearl said."

"Iris told me," Pearl said, "that Apollo and Ema are coming to dinner…"

"Yep," Ema said cheerfully, "I need to go do some investigative work first, but I'll swing by your apartment and pick you up, Apollo." And then she walked off.

"I never asked for this!" Apollo shouted after her, and then quickly agreed to go to dinner under the force of the glares from Mr. Wright, Mrs. Wright, and Trucy. "Coercion, I tell you, coercion! Your wife's trying to get an edge on me!" Apollo said.

"Oh, come on," Mr. Wright said, "what makes you think Trucy hasn't told us all about you?"

"O-oh, yeah," Apollo said, feeling deflated. "I guess… but first, I need to go talk to, uh, Mr. Armando and Mr. Orson about the murders and stuff."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Come with me," she said, "let's go talk to Mr. Orson. I'll let you in on the interrogation."

Trucy, Pearl, and Mr. Wright left for Mr. Wright's house with Detective Gumshoe while Apollo and Mrs. Wright set out to the detention center. Unlike with Ema, the car ride was quiet. At the detention center, Orson was uncooperative, to say the least. The police were interrogating him while Mrs. Wright and Apollo watched from behind a two-way mirror; what was being said was being broadcast via a set of cameras onto grainy, low-resolution televisions.

After half an hour of nothing, a police officer entered the room. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "we can't get him to talk."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Send him to the visitation area," she said, "I'll see if Mr. Justice and I can get anything out of him."

Apollo looked at her in confusion and, in response, she held a glowing magatama up. "Mr. Wright's?" She nodded. Then she put it back into her pocket.

Orson was sitting at the booth, looking utterly depressed. "I'll stay silent for you, my sweetheart…" he moaned as Apollo and Mrs. Wright arrived.

"You do realize that we can simply find out who she is from your phone?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Deleted," he said back, his composure not changing, "you have no way of knowing who she is."

"Really," Apollo said, "so, does your 'sweetheart' know that you were in an eco-terrorist group?"

"Dude, she helped found it," Orson said. He looked up, and focused on Mrs. Wright. "Although… if you were to, like, do something for me-"

"No," Mrs. Wright said. "I will do nothing for you."

"C'mon, married chicks are the best! They're the most experienced!" Orson said.

"Something I'm sure you're knowledgeable about," Apollo said.

And Orson chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Sure am, dude," Orson said, and then he started combing his hair. "Chicks dig the stubble and hair. Don't they, babe?"

"You physically repulse me," Mrs. Wright said, "I cannot stand philanderers or adulterers or anyone who enables them."

"Well, what if your husband was to just keel over and die?" Orson said, and he smirked. "C'mon, babe, what if someone just zapped 'im, or maybe stuck a sword through 'em, or maybe fed him some poison like the boss-man? What then, babe? I could make you feel better."

But Mrs. Wright looked absolutely furious. "You _will _not speak to me like that," she hissed, "you _will _not make the mistake of telling me that. If you keep this up, I may arrange for you to be locked in my room with my sister…"

"You can't," Orson said easily, "she's dead."

Mrs. Wright looked at him coldly while Apollo said, "and how do you know that, Mr. Orson?"

"I- uh…"

"It's almost like you were able to find out who the prosecutor was and find out her history with her husband," Apollo said, "how long have you known this?"

"Um, well," Orson said, and he began sweating. "A-a while?"

"Someone told you who the prosecutor would be, didn't they?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Um… yes," Orson said, "it was my boss, Mrs. Fey… she knows my sweetheart and me and was helping us get rid of that report…"

"I see," Mrs. Wright said, "and that's all?"

Orson nodded. "Besides," he said, back to his care-free self, "it's not like you have any way of knowing who my sweetheart is…"

"I think we do," Mrs. Wright said, "what do you think, Mr. Justice?"

_Who does she think I am, Mr. Wright!?_ "Of course," Apollo said, smiling and crossing his arms to play along with the charade nonetheless, "we have a very easy way of finding out who he was."

"She!" Orson said, "there's no way I- wait!"

"That's what I thought," Mrs. Wright said, "and from the list of ecoterrorists, it'd be easy enough to find out who the founders were… and find out which woman was your 'sweetheart'."

"N-no way, dude!" Orson said, his voice shaky, "c'mon! I mean… look, she had nothing to do with the organization after helping found it! She wouldn't be on that list, she wasn't part of the thing in Mexico!"

For a moment, Mrs. Wright seemed surprised, and then she smiled and said, "Mr. Orson, you're lying. I have conclusive evidence that she was part of the attack on the maize field in Mexico."

She nodded to Apollo, who quickly thought through what that might be- and then pulled out the report and handed it to her. "This report," Mrs. Wright said, "has a list of every attacker who was part of the incident. If your 'sweetheart' really had nothing to do with this, then why would she want to remove the report?"

"I! Uh… there was something else written on the report I burnt!" Orson wailed, "th-that's what was really written down!"

"I see," Mrs. Wright said, "then why did you try and cover for her when she poisoned the coffeepot?"

"!" Orson dropped his comb and fell off his chair. "H-how-"

"The psyche-lock's gone," Mrs. Wright said, "tell the truth about this 'sweetheart'."

"She… her name's Irene Chandler-Chavez," Orson said, and he guiltily combed his hair. "She, uh… well, she can be a little caustic, but she's such a hot woman…"

"And she poisoned the coffeepot?" Apollo asked.

Orson nodded. "I don't know for sure, actually," he admitted, "I didn't see it. She just told me not to drink the coffee, so I thought that she was the poisoner and tried to help her in court…"

"He's not lying," Mrs. Wright said, "where is Miss Chandler-Chavez?"

"She's in a hotel, one I got thrown out of for bothering her," Orson said. "But th-thinking back, there's no way she did it!"

"We'll see, Mr. Orson," Mrs. Wright said. "Come, Mr. Justice. We have to go talk to Mr. Armando as well." Mrs. Wright called in for an arrest warrant for Miss Chandler-Chavez, and then they drove to the prison Armando was incarcerated in and were quickly admitted in to see him sipping his coffee.

"Mr. Justice, Mrs. Wright," Armando said when they both took their places, "I take it I was right?"

"Yep," Apollo said, "there's a missing coffeepot and a third party who might be the murderer."

Armando chuckled. "Thought so," he said, "my rule was right."

"Mr. Armando," Mrs. Wright said, "you were the prosecutor on the Org case, eight years ago."

"Correct," Armando said, "shortly before the case against Wright over that Byrde woman."

"He was put in on a manslaughter charge?" Apollo said.

Armando chuckled, and then gave Apollo a very toothy smirk. "Is that what they told you?" he said, "I got him in on vehicular homicide."

"Who was the man he killed?" Apollo said.

"By any chance, was he an ecoterrorist?" Mrs. Wright asked.

Armando nodded. "He bankrolled militant environmental groups tied to a flood in late 2018," Armando said, "after they detonated a dam as a protest over the treatment of a certain variety of fish. Most of the blame was pinned on a man named William W. Waxman."

"The defendant's brother," Mrs. Wright said. "Phoenix told me that during the trial, his magatama reacted to Miss Caroline claiming that Org was no criminal. She knew."

Armando nodded. "Waxman died in jail, killed by a refugee who'd lost his kids," Armando said, "Org claimed that was his motivation, that the man he killed got off while the man pinned with the blame was killed by a vengeful parent. However…"

"He tried to escape from prison," Apollo said, "by obtaining a retrial, claiming that you used forged evidence to get a conviction."

"He lasted a year," Mrs. Wright noted, "by demonizing you…"

"Never trust a can of instant. No matter how good it looks, it's still the same processed beans," Armando said. He chugged his coffee and then slammed it down. "It's no surprise that someone would want to kill him, but the defendant wouldn't kill him. She has no reason to."

"The motive was the weakest part," Mrs. Wright admitted, although her eyes did dart to Armando once. "Without that knowledge of that second coffeepot, we thought we had this down…"

"Never expect an easy trial, especially against someone who works for Wright," Armando said. "Something you should know from your _own _trial, almost eight years ago now."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Was there anything else you know about Org?" Apollo said, "anything we can use in court?"

Armando looked at him… and then gave him another scary grin. "I think I've run out of visitation time," Armando said, "I guess you'll have to ask me in court tomorrow. But do I know something? Yes, I know something…"

The guards lead Armando away while Mrs. Wright adopted her 'thinking' pose. "I think I'll leave our murder suspect for last," she said, "Mr. Armando first… hmm…"

"Do you think all we'll need is two more witnesses to prove my client innocent?" Apollo said.

"All I need to do is prove that Chandler-Chavez couldn't've been the murderer and suspicion will return to Caroline. However, without that coffeepot I can't say I believe they're fully guilty anymore," Mrs. Wright said. "We'll also have to bring in my mother and knowing Mr. Armando, there'll be another witness he drags in…"

"Speaking of your mother, she doesn't like you?" Apollo asked as they walked back towards her car.

"My sister and I are- or were- unable to channel," Mrs. Wright replied, "and we left with my father when he left Kurain village. However, I was left behind at the urging of my sister at Hazakura temple, which I didn't leave until I was sent to prison."

"And after you left prison, you married Mr. Wright?" Apollo said. _That seems like a stupid move… a criminal and a disbarred lawyer with a young daughter_…

"Feenie and I got married about a year after we re-met at Hazakura temple," Mrs. Wright said. "Oh, uh… please don't call him that in public, by the way," and she blushed.

"Wasn't planning on it," Apollo said. He could feel his teeth rotting again.

They entered her car. "We need to go to the crime scene building," Mrs. Wright said, "see if the pot's been found. You can walk home from there, right? To get ready?"

"I-I suppose," Apollo said.

Mrs. Wright nodded and started her car. Then she continued: "we got married so quickly because he had a young daughter, and once he married a Fey Mystic Maya could declare him a Fey and be worthy of any emergency funding without any protest from anyone else in Kurain village. Also, the tax bracket's better, and we weren't getting any younger…"

"I-I see," Apollo said, deciding not to voice his earlier thoughts.

"From there, he would watch the kids during the day and play piano and gamble at night," Mrs. Wright said, "while I spent the day studying to become a higher court prosecutor, a suggestion of Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Armando and Ms. Von Karma. Oh, and Kristoph Gavin. I-I think it might've been sarcastic, actually, but eventually I was able to pass the bar exam and started earning enough money to buy a house in the suburbs."

Apollo nodded numbly. He didn't really care, but he supposed that was nice. "Don't you have twins or something?" he said.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Poor Feenie was so worried, especially since I was just a student and he was still unemployed. A lot of the money we got from Mystic Maya and Sister Bikini went to the tuition and medical fees. And I must admit… I _was _worried when I found out it was twins…"

And she said nothing else until they arrived at the crime scene, at which point Apollo left her car before he would have to partake in any more "Apollo hears people talk about things that aren't his business" events.

And then Ema ran up to him. "Well, looks like you were on to something, Apollo," she said, and she took out her bag of snacks and started munching on her Snackoos until Mrs. Wright joined them. Then she put the snacks away and yanked out a notebook. "We found the coffeepot," she said, "and there were traces of poison in it. Someone clearly tried to clean it out, but you can't fool me! Or, well, the coffee-stained toilet that we were able to swab to find out if it'd had the poison in it…"

"They didn't clean the toilet?" Apollo asked.

Ema put a hand on her hip and grabbed a strap of her bag. "The janitorial staff wasn't allowed to work over the last two days," Ema said, completely serious, "can't have someone ruining a crime scene! And the janitorial stuff was guarded by officers, so no-go there."

"What floor?" Mrs. Wright asked.

"17th."

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Well," she said, "I need to go have a talk with Morgan Fey. She's still at work?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ema said, "17th floor as well. As for me, it's quitting time now, so come on, Apollo."

* * *

_January 12, 6:22 PM, Apollo's Apartment, Los Angeles_

She dropped him off at his apartment and left to go change into more appropriate attire for dinner. Apollo just took a shower and changed into an identical outfit, and wasn't surprised when Ema turned up still dressed in an identical outfit herself, although she did smell better. "I took a shower before I left," she explained, "so you can still smell my shampoo."

"Thanks, Ema."

And they took off for the Wrights' house… and promptly got stuck in traffic. "I don't understand," Apollo said, "isn't rush hour _over_?"

"Car crash?"

"Maybe…" and Apollo told Ema about what Armando had told him and Mrs. Wright. "So do you know anything about what specifically was supposed to be forged?"

"I think… it was a report of some kind," Ema said, "the autopsy report?"

"But how would Armando be able to forge that evidence?" Apollo said, "he's not the coroner."

"…maybe it was like Mr. Wright. Or Mr. Edgeworth. A prosecutor accidentally using forged evidence isn't out of the question," Ema said.

"Mr. Edgeworth used forged evidence?" Apollo said, "Mr. Wright's friend?"

Ema nodded. "Let me tell you a story about a man named Damon Gant," Ema said, and she added, sadly, "and a woman named Lana Skye." And Ema explained the Joe Darke killings, about how she'd been framed for the murder of prosecutor Neil Marshall, and about how the Chief of Police used forged evidence to get Darke sent to prison and used the "proof" of Ema's role in the killings to blackmail her sister, who became the chief prosecutor thanks to Gant.

At the end of her story, Apollo could tell that even if the case was now almost ten years old, it still weighed on Ema. "I told myself I'd become a forensic scientist," she said bitterly, "that was what Lana helped me set up. I stayed with a coroner friend in Europe, and when I came back to America I tried to help out Mr. Edgeworth… but in the end-"

"You didn't make it," Apollo said. He considered cutting off "national tell Apollo about your backstory day" but decided against it. "So, your sister raised you?"

Ema nodded. "My parents died in a car crash," she said, "so Lana raised me. Everything she did… she did for my sake."

"What happened to Gant?" Apollo said, "you said he was a respected detective?"

"…he hated crime," Ema said, looking at the road ahead resolutely, "he hated crime with a passion, and that was his downfall. He was so dedicated to his crusade that he killed a man and ruined so many people's lives all in an attempt to put one man in prison and keep him there."

"He does sound familiar, though," Apollo said. Where had he heard about him?

But Ema nodded. "I'm not surprised," Ema said, "if you were following what happened to Mr. Wright eight years ago… Gant was one of the people who spoke up in Mr. Wright's favor and refused to seek a retrial. There were a lot of people who Mr. Wright put in prison who sued to try and escape, but at least Gant stayed."

"Actually, come to think of it, who did stay?" Apollo said, trying to recall those names. He knew about Armando, obviously, but…

"There weren't many, actually," Ema said, "the ones who didn't try at all. Damon Gant, Acro Dingling, Matt Engarde, and Diego Armando were the only ones who didn't try to escape, and Engarde seemed to be because his life would be in danger if he left."

Apollo vaguely remembered it now, from when he was just a teenager: the nightly news swarming with reports of various murderers and miscreants seeking retrial, an interview with newly-imprisoned Diego Armando where he vigorously defended Wright, a press conference held by Gant behind bars where he said that Wright was no forger… at the time, Apollo had paid rapt attention to those interviews and news, but as time went on he had to focus on his studies and put them aside.

"Come to think of it, what did your sister say?" Apollo asked.

"She said that Mr. Wright didn't forge evidence. Duh," Ema said, "do you think she wouldn't know a lie when she saw one?"

_Well, considering Mr. Wright's luck… _"You still talk with her?"

"Yep," Ema said, "don't you have a sister or something?"

"No," Apollo said, "no sisters."

"Oh. I could've sworn that you and Trucy were siblings or something…" Ema said, "I mean, you guys look so much alike!"

"…no, we don't," Apollo said. "There is no relation between us." Where did she _get _ideas like that?

Ema frowned. "Must be mistaken, then," she said, "but c'mon, you guys work together so well!"

"Yeah, sure," Apollo said, deciding not to tell her that most of Apollo's work when he wasn't on a case was being Trucy's assistant, whether he liked it or not, and after the carrot incident he wasn't exactly eager to go investigating with her again.

Ema chuckled and then said, brightly, "it won't be long before Lana's back, I think. She's not in California anymore, but I hope she can become a detective and we can work together. This time, I won't just be the annoying little sister: I'll be the woman of science and she can be the woman of logic and together we'll be the new Legendary Duo!"

_Because… science and logic are mutually exclusive? _"Aren't you getting transferred?" Apollo said, surprised by Ema's boundless enthusiasm.

"It'll only be for a year," Ema said, "c'mon, they'll take one look at that Fulbright guy and decide that I'm a much better fit for LA. Actually, speaking of which…"

"What?"

"I, uh, kind of forgot, but I'm leaving in a week," Ema said, "hey, make sure you come and see me off, okay? Bring Trucy and Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth."

"What makes you think I can get Mr. _Edgeworth_," Apollo said, "do you think I know him!?"

Ema laughed a little. "Well, how about you, Apollo," she said, clearly teasing him, "do you want me to come see you off to your doom in trial tomorrow?"

"What makes you think I'll do so poorly?" Apollo said, "c'mon! What kind of lawyer do you take me for!?"

"Well, I suppose it's true that you haven't lost yet," Ema said, "Mr. Edgeworth would crush you, though."

"Thanks, Ema."

The traffic eased up a little and they began going at a little more respectable pace. "At this rate," Ema said, breaking the silence after five minutes, "we'll be there in about half an hour." Then traffic backed up again, and she sighed.

"You just _had _to open your mouth, didn't you, Ema?" Apollo said, exasperated.

Ema stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm told that defense attorneys are moving bad luck charms," Ema said, "well, anyway, tell me, Apollo: do you have anyone you really want to work with? You know, besides Mr. Wright?"

"Well…" Apollo said, his mind going to Clay. Apollo Justice, space attorney? He laughed nervously and scratched his head, one hand on his hip.

"Let me guess," Ema said, a hint of laughter in her voice, "you dream of working alongside me to bring justice to all the Gants and Gavins of the world. We'll get married in a chapel in Las Vegas and then Ema and Apollo Skye will devote their days to making sure that glimmorous-" (_Glamorous! _thought Apollo) "-fop has _real _cases to stand on!" And then she kept chuckling before petering off, a smile on her face.

For a second, Apollo imagined him and Ema getting married in a seedy fluorescent-light chapel in Vegas, becoming an amazing crime-fighting duo- "Wait a minute!" Apollo shouted, "why am _I _the one changing my name!? And I'm a defense attorney, our jobs are enemies of each other!"

And Ema laughed more. "Silly Mr. Justice," she said, "this is 2027. Why should I have to change my name when we both know I'd be the one wearing the pants?"

Apollo winced. _Please don't let that be so_, he thought, _please don't turn me into Mr. Wright…_

"And besides," Ema said, "Mr. Wright is a defense attorney and Mrs. Wright is a prosecutor. They get along well."

"They work in completely different courts," Apollo said, "how do you think I'd feel about having to tear down my own wife's testimony in court? Humiliating her for a fighting chance against his rockstarness and the latest wrong case?"

And Ema just giggled some more. "C'mon, Apollo," she said, "you do that anyway. I wouldn't kick you onto the couch for doing your job."

"Yeah, sure. That's what you say now," Apollo said. "Still, that's probably not going to happen."

"Probably not," Ema said, "fun to think about, though, right?"

_Well, I guess if I want to imagine a lifetime of being whipped like the boss_… "Sure," Apollo said, "anyway, I wasn't thinking about you."

"Awww…"

"Oh, come on, we both know you aren't really distressed," Apollo said. Ema smiled again. "No, I've got this great friend. You should meet him some day. His name's Clay Terran, and he's an astronaut. And, well, I think it'd be cool to be the first lawyer in space!"

"…that does seem pretty cool," Ema said. "I know! I can be the first detective in space! One small step for a woman, one giant leap for Snackoo-kind! …speaking of which, can you get some Snackoos out of my utility compartment? I'm feeling kind of hungry…"

"We're going to dinner!"

A half hour later, they arrived in the Wright's neighborhood, one full of two-story buildings. Apollo had, after some argument, submitted to Ema's authority and given her one of her bags, which she was happily munching on. And when they arrived at the Wright residence, Apollo had to take a moment to pull some Snackoos out of his hair that Ema had thrown at him for nagging her about dinner.

The Wright house was nothing special. Its walls were a purplish color with some brick ornamentation and the windows had window-shades but otherwise it was nothing special. There seemed to be nothing indicating that this was where Trucy lived, unlike the office being covered in her magician's stuff; in addition, the garage door was open to show that there was no car. "I guess Mrs. Wright's not back yet," Apollo said, "Ema, will there be enough room-"

"Don't doubt me, Apollo!" she declared, and she threw a Snackoo at him. _Ka-tonk! _

_Thanks, Ema… _

The two walked up to the Wright residence door and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Trucy. "Polly! Ema!" Trucy said, "Mommy's not home, so you guys can go help Daddy with dinner."

She tipped her hat and let them in to reveal that, yes, this is where Trucy lived. While on the outside it looked like sleepy suburbia, on the inside there was everything from a few Mr. Hats laying around popped-out to all sorts of magician-y equipment that Apollo wasn't quite sure how to even _describe_. "Don't you have siblings?" Apollo asked her, "you know, who might destroy your stuff or something?"

"Oh, this? This is just from a few days ago, Polly," Trucy said, bouncing on her feet again, "usually this is up in my room."

"I… see," Apollo said.

"Oh, stop complaining!" Ema said, and she threw another Snackoo at Apollo. "Where's the kitchen?"

"I'll show you, Ms. Skye!" Pearl said, entering the front hall from a hallway, "follow me!"

Ema took off, leaving Apollo alone with Trucy. "…there's a Snackoo in your hair," Trucy said.

"Thanks, Trucy." And Apollo set off after Ema and Pearl.

In the kitchen was Mr. Wright, wearing a lovely apron, as well as a strange gray-haired man who looked vaguely familiar. "Is that Mr. Edgeworth?" Ema said, "is that Mr. Edgeworth?"

The gray-haired man turned around to reveal that he was also wearing a lovely pink apron that, for whatever reason, had a cravat. "Who makes these outfits?" Apollo said, mostly to himself.

Edgeworth's eyes rested on Apollo for a moment and then he turned to Ema. "Who are you again?" he said.

"Ema Skye, sir! We met again about eight years ago, sir!" Ema said. Even her bag of Snackoos had disappeared- and then she whipped them back out again and started munching on them, albeit nervously. "So, uh, why are you here?"

"Dinner," Edgeworth said, "Wright asked that I assist him."

And then Edgeworth turned back to the counter, picked up a knife, and started slicing something. "Mr. Edgeworth frequently eats over here," Mr. Wright said, "we're old friends, and he usually eats by himself…"

"I told you that wasn't a problem, Wright," Edgeworth replied. He sounded somewhat grumpy.

"Mr. Edgeworth," Apollo said, "were you at the trial today?"

"I had prior engagements," Edgeworth replied stiffly. He sliced something, and then added, "however… I am told that you and Iris performed well in court. I was worried that a higher court prosecutor would be unable to adjust."

"She did fine," Mr. Wright said.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Daddy?" Trucy said, slipping into the kitchen.

"Edgeworth and I have this handled," Mr. Wright said, "girls, can you help Diego and Valerie set the table?"

"Okay, Mr. Nick!" Pearl said, and she and Trucy left the kitchen.

"Diego and Valerie?" Apollo said.

"Trucy's little brother and sister," Mr. Wright said, and he turned to something that was frying on the stove, "they're twins. Maya Valerie and Diego."

"Wright named Diego on accident," Edgeworth added, a hint of amusement in his voice, "named his son after the man who kept calling him 'Trite'."

"Well, it's a fine name," Mr. Wright said, and he added, looking disgruntled, "even if he's not actually Hispanic…"

"It's 2027, Mr. Wright," Ema said, "I don't think anyone's going to care. C'mon, Apollo, let's go watch 'em."

They entered what had to be the dining room. Trucy was already at the table, with some plates in hand. "Domestic bliss," Apollo muttered, "how lovely…"

"No need to be sarcastic, Apollo," Ema said.

Two little kids ran into the room. "Aunt Ema!" a little girl called, one who had black hair braided like her mother's, "Aunt Ema!"

"Is that Uncle Apollo!?" a little boy called, who had the same shade of hair and had vaguely spiky hair (not as well-defined as his father's, though).

"Why am I Uncle Apollo?" Apollo said, "I'm too young to be an uncle!"

"I'm too young to be an aunt!" Pearl said, also entering the room, "but you don't see _me _complaining!"

"You were yesterday," Apollo pointed out.

Pearl frowned and went to help Trucy. The kids awkwardly hugged Apollo and Ema's legs and, arguing with each other about Aunt Ema vs Uncle Apollo, went to help Trucy and Pearl.

"Remind me to talk to Mr. Wright about what his kids call me," Apollo said.

"I think it's cute," Ema replied. And she threw yet another Snackoo at him. Surely she was running out?

Apollo and Ema were quickly roped into helping Trucy and company with setting the table, and Apollo privately wondered where in his job description it included the words "do stuff with Mr. Wright's kids and the local detective". At least it heartened him to see Edgeworth come out of the kitchen holding a steaming casserole and looking positively unhappy. "I am the chief prosecutor, not a maid," Edgeworth said under his breath as he walked by Apollo, "how did I get myself into this mess?"

The door opened and Mrs. Wright entered the house. "Mommy!" the twins called and ran out of the room; Apollo felt an overwhelming sense of domesticity and resolved to watch the cable news to overcome it.

"You don't look like you're enjoying this," Edgeworth commented, coming to stand next to Apollo, "I can't blame you."

"Yeah, I don't like getting involved in family stuff," Apollo said, "although Ema seems to be taking this rather well." Ema, who was chatting with Trucy and Pearl about scientific stuff, threw yet another Snackoo at Apollo and finally scrunched her bag up and stuck it in her pocket. Apollo sighed and brushed the Snackoo off of his hair. "Does she come over here often or something?"

"From what Wright told me, yes," Edgeworth said, "since the Misham trial, to be exact. Gavin sent her to provide official police assistance for the MASON system after Gumshoe was hospitalized."

"Ah," Apollo said, "you know Gumshoe?"

"Detective Gumshoe was a partner of sorts for many years," Edgeworth said, "however, since I first left for Europe and came back to become chief prosecutor, I'm afraid that many different prosecutors have taken that role. The most recent change was several years ago, when he began working for the higher courts instead and for Iris Wright in particular."

"I see," Apollo said. Now that he thought about it, wasn't that Gumshoe involved in the Misham trial as well? Or at least, in Mr. Wright's investigation years ago? "Did you have anything to do with MASON system?"

"I was instrumental to its implementation," Edgeworth replied. "There were many times when Wright flew overseas to assist me in the legal groundwork for it. There were times, you see, when he had work and family and his investigation to focus on. So much of the framework for the MASON system was based on my own research. Admittedly, it was not perfect…"

"It's better than what we have," Apollo said, "I can't believe they got rid of it."

"I can," Edgeworth said. "There are certain vested interests with great political power who preferred the old system. The only ones who still backed it, at least in California, was actually the judiciary. But few judges become politicians. Many lawyers do." Edgeworth smiled wryly and added, "perhaps it is better that pastors and businessmen become the politicians than lawyers. In the end, they were less averse to Wright's creation than his own state."

"And that's where Klavier Gavin is," Apollo said. "Was there really no one else to take over this case?"

Mr. Wright passed Edgeworth and Apollo (they were standing in the entrance to the kitchen) and put a bowl of something on the table and then popped out into the entrance hall. "No one," Edgeworth said, "I'm afraid that I had prior commitments involving a certain new prosecutor, along with a… favor for Wright. And all of our other prosecutors are either hospitalized or busy."

"Hospitalized?"

"Nothing to worry about," Edgeworth said, "just some standard medical issues, no foul play."

Apollo nodded. "And out of all the people, why Mrs. Wright?" Apollo said, "I assume you're in charge of all higher court prosecution…"

"I am," Edgeworth said. "I chose her because of all the higher court prosecutors, she is the most competent. She was, after all, partially trained by Franziska von Karma. Most higher court prosecutors are spineless or lazy lawyers who are more concerned with their paychecks than the truth. Even the winning record obsession doesn't matter to them. After all, the higher courts were always nothing but a rubber-stamp with no power designed to appease the Constitution."

"But the higher court can do something besides that, right?" Apollo said. That's what Kristoph Gavin and law school had told him.

Edgeworth sighed and began tapping his arm, his arms crossed. "They can," he said, "although they usually do not. In theory, if a case has been handled poorly, it can be exposed in the higher court and the truth uncovered. In practice-"

"-that isn't what usually happens, is it, Mr. Edgeworth?" Apollo glanced away from Edgeworth to see an unfamiliar man in a dark green suit with a crimson tie, a short white beard with white hair, and a light tan. "Usually," the man said, "the higher court is just as corrupt in this dark age of the law as your lower courts are. The defense attorneys such as myself are still the same, getting our clients off on technicalities and worrying more about what we'll get than justice, and the prosecutors are-"

"Mr. Edgeworth already told me," Apollo said, not wanting to be pontificated at more. "Who are you?"

Mrs. Wright entered the room, a briefcase under her arm. "This is Amulek Josephson, a defense lawyer I often go against in court," she said, "and the least slimy of all higher court defense attorneys. I'll go get that file you need now."

"Thank you, Wright," Josephson said, and Mrs. Wright nodded and entered the kitchen. "But yes, we call Wright there the 'Scourge of the Higher Courts'. Depending on the case, she can be a boon or a curse. And she is one of very few lawyers today who follow the old traditions of providing as much scientific and expert witness over testimonials and hidden evidence, presumably because of what happened to her husband. Although I fear that's of little use on the bar court..."

Mr. Wright entered the room. He was holding a file as well. "Staying for dinner, Mr. Josephson?" he said.

Josephson shook his head. "Your wife is getting a file on the Hutchinson case," he said, "in exchange for the report my firm made. I'm sure she'll tell you more about it."

"Indeed," Edgeworth said. "Josephson. I've heard your name before."

Josephson smiled at him. "I'm not surprised," he said, "I've been a lawyer for many years, since the first Fawles case so many years ago. Unfortunately, I never lost to you as I transferred courts after the Hawthorne trial."

"I thought Mystic Mia handled that one," Pearl said, commenting for the first time; apparently, she'd been listening.

"That was the Wright trial," Josephson said, "I had no part in that. But every person is required to have at least a state-appointed representative, and I was that for the trial of Miss Hawthorne." He smiled, and added, "and thanks to my co-counsel, my future employer at the Quetzalcoatl Law Firm, our 'plea bargain' harshened the sentence to the death penalty. Before that she was simply looking at a life in prison. In retrospect… it seems we made the wrong decision, if the events of Mr. Godot's downfall are true."

"Wasn't that case all smoke and mirrors?" Apollo said, "I heard that a prosecutor killed someone and during the trial they tried to pin it all on a dead person…"

"Not quite," Mr. Wright said.

"You would've had to've been there. I couldn't believe it myself," Edgeworth added.

"I wasn't there, but I've heard from Wright what happened," Josephson said. "According to her, her dead sister attempted to murder her cousin- and her aunt died for it." He smiled again. "I couldn't believe it at first, but since then I've paid a visit to Kurain, and I can't say it's out of the question anymore…"

Mrs. Wright reentered the room and handed Josephson a file. "Good night, Josephson," she said, "see you in court when this is over."

"Of course," Josephson said, "actually, I think I'll be watching proceedings tomorrow." He curtsied a little and then left the room. The door shut a minute later.

"Trucy, please go get Valerie and Diego," Mrs. Wright said. Trucy nodded and ran off. "And make sure you wash your hands!"

"Oh, speaking of which," Ema said, "Apollo. We need to go do that too."

"Yes, ma'am…"

Hands were washed and the Wrights plus guests gathered at the dinner table. Mr. Wright was a rather good cook, all things considered, for a guy who usually just took Apollo out to a super-salty noodle stand during work. Discussion at the table was disjointed. Apollo talked about magic tricks with Trucy and Mr. Wright. Pearl tried to teach the twins about a Mystic Maya, with occasional interjections from Mrs. Wright, who otherwise seemed preoccupied with the case. And Ema babbled about detective work and the "glimmerous fop" (_glamorous_!) with Edgeworth.

When dinner was over, Mr. Wright retreated into the kitchen to go get dessert, even though Apollo felt like he couldn't eat another bite. "So," Ema said (she still looked chipper), "what did that Josephson bring you anyway, Mrs. Wright?"

"His law firm's report on the Org lawsuit to escape prison seven years ago," Mrs. Wright replied. "Specifically, on the forged evidence."

Apollo bolted upright. Finally, something relevant to the case! "What about it," Apollo said, "is the rumor about the autopsy being faked true?"

Mrs. Wright frowned. "According to them, yes," she said, "but Dr. Kamosinko has been the coroner for over ten years."

"We've never had many problems with him," Edgeworth said, "he's a very… eccentric man, to say the least, but the idea of him forging a report is very unlikely."

"And usually, it's the defense who's accused of forging evidence," Mr. Wright said, reentering the room holding a cake, "thanks to yours truly…"

"And you've been cleared, Wright. Don't hold yourself accountable," Edgeworth said.

Mr. Wright nodded. "I know, but…"

"I've been charged of using forged evidence multiple times," Mrs. Wright said, "probably thanks to my last name. Of course, they can never prove it, and with all of my witnesses…"

Edgeworth nodded. "In any case," he said, "rather than feeling pity for one another, how about you finish reporting on the Org case?" Apollo suddenly realized why Ema liked Edgeworth so much.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "It'll all come up in court tomorrow," she said, "I've arranged for Mr. Armando to testify regarding this case, as well as Dr. Kamosinko if the need arises. For the moment, though, I'll give a report to Phoenix so that he can give it to you, Apollo."

"Thank you, ma'am," Apollo said. Well, at least he got some evidence out of this.

"Was there anyone else who was let go?" Pearl said, "besides my mother and Mr. Org on forged evidence charges?"

"There were many people who were released on such charges," Edgeworth said, "and there were many who made the claim and failed to escape. I had to return to the country personally for the retrial of Redd White."

"Mr. Armando would not've been happy if he'd been set free…" Pearl said, biting her thumbnail.

"Indeed."

Dinner continued into the night, and after dinner Edgeworth gave a curt "thank you" and walked outside. Apollo and Ema followed him outside after saying goodnight and saw Edgeworth enter a red car at the opposite side of the street and drive off. "Well, time to go home," Ema said, "and this time, how long can it take?"

* * *

**A/N: Don't assume this is open-and-shut now...**

**Updated A/N: Went back and fixed some of Ema's exuberance. While she'd probably be pretty happy that she's not working for the glimmerous fop right now, she is still _Ema_.**


	4. Trial, Day 2, Part I

_January 13, 8:41 AM, Ema's Apartment, Los Angeles_

A train had derailed that night, fortunately with no casualties according to the radio news, and as a result by the time Apollo and Ema had managed to inch through the very, very slow-moving detour it was almost one in the morning and Ema did not feel like driving Apollo to his apartment so he crashed for the night in her apartment (on the couch, of course).

As a result, Apollo was still feeling tired when he was woken up by Ema. "Come on, Apollo," she said, still dressed in her bedclothes, "wake up, lazy! It's time for breakfast, and then we need to get to the courthouse. Hopefully it won't be a problem if you wear your suit two days in a row?"

"Actually, this is the only suit I wear," Apollo said, sitting up on the couch, "with my shoulders and my arms, how cheap do you think it is to get suits that fit?"

Ema shrugged. "Up and at 'em, I'll make breakfast while you get ready. I've got all sorts of floral shampoos for you to use!"

"…fabulous."

Ema had, of course, relabeled them all to include the scientific names of all the various flowery scents she had. Apollo decided to go with "_Syringa vulgaris"_ and, of course, at breakfast was made fun of for it. Still, at least Ema happened to have hair gel. Then Ema left to go take a shower, leaving Apollo to watch TV. "-trial of Bertha Caroline will begin in about another hour," an announcer on some news channel was drawling when Apollo turned the TV on. "Cameras caught a prison transport carrying convicted killer and former prosecutor Godot to the courthouse, supposedly for testimony today."

Apollo thought for a moment about that. He knew what Mrs. Wright needed to do today- prove that Caroline had a motive and was the one who poisoned the coffee pot. And, of course, to explain away Orson and his friend's actions. Still, this Irene Chandler-Chavez seemed the most suspicious to Apollo. What would he do about her?

Could she be the real killer?

Ema emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her usual work outfit. "There," she said smugly, "now we have matching hair scents."

"Great," Apollo said, deadpan, "I'm glad that we have a way to lead people into thinking that we spent the night together."

Ema said nothing and adjusted her glasses. "…well," Ema said, "it's not my fault a train derailed and Mr. Wright served turkey. Come on, we have a place to be."

The courthouse was swarming with people and cameras when Apollo and Ema arrived. "Is a convict really that exciting?" Apollo asked Ema.

Ema shrugged. Using Apollo's status as Caroline's defense, they were able to brush past crowds of people and the police protection to enter the courtroom. "Is today a holiday or something?" Apollo said. "Don't these people have jobs to go to?"

"Actually, today's a holiday," Ema said, "so was yesterday. It's basically just those of us in the police and legal systems that have to work today. And, you know, the municipalities and the buses and that stuff."

"…I wish I got that some time," Apollo said.

They went their separate ways and Apollo entered the defense lobby to find Mr. Wright, Caroline, a few police officers, and Diego Armando himself, sipping coffee. "This is much better than what I got in prison," he said. Then he glanced up, and smiled toothily. "Ah, so the lawyer finally arrives. Thought I wouldn't get the chance to talk to you before I was carted off to court."

"Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "shouldn't you be in the prosecution's area?"

"Ha. She does anything I ask her to," Armando said, "probably still feels bad about what her sister did to me. But I can't stay here forever."

Mr. Wright nodded. "Apollo," he said, looking exasperated, "there's a chance that I might have to leave court today. Trucy was planning on working on a trick with gasoline involved, and while ordinarily I wouldn't be worried, Maggey's her assistant, since I want Pearls watching the kids, so…"

"We've asked the Judge that in case anything happens, I can take over as co-counsel," Armando said. "Technically speaking, there's no law against that."

"I'd… be delighted, Mr. Armando," Apollo said, trying to mask his worry and failing yet again. "So, uh, why didn't Trucy and Pearl come today?"

"Edgeworth was watching the kids yesterday. But he had to go back to working on the Blackquill preparation full time," Mr. Wright said, "and while Maggey tries so hard, she isn't known for her bad luck for nothing…"

"Well, don't worry, Wright," Armando said. "In life, sometimes things wait to happen until their most inconvenient time. Before that happens, you need to have a backup plan. That's one of my rules." And then he guzzled his coffee.

"…thanks, Armando," Mr. Wright said, wincing. "Although… that didn't seem to help much at Hazakura…"

Armando paused in his guzzling and then threw his coffee at Mr. Wright. "Don't bring that up," he said, "what was I supposed to do, let Hawthorne kill Maya?"

"You know that's not what I was saying-" a coffee-covered Mr. Wright said.

"Then be quiet."

Ema stuck her head into the room and said, "Mr. Armando, you're needed by the prosecutor."

Armando nodded and, together with the police officers and a new coffee cup from nowhere, left the defense chamber.

"…so," Apollo said, hoping that Armando would not become his co-counsel since he wasn't sure he could take an overpowering smell of coffee all trial, "what's the plan, Mr. Wright?"

"We need to prove that Caroline wasn't the murderer, obviously, and the key to that will be in the testimonies," Mr. Wright said. He handed Apollo a thick report and said, "this is the report on the possibility of forged evidence that the Quetzalcoatl Law Firm underwent. I also talked to Iris last night and was able to get the order of witnesses: she's planning on calling Armando first, Kamosinko, her mother, and then Chandler-Chavez. According to her, Armando's to tie up loose ends, Kamosinko only if QLF's right, her mother to show why the pot wasn't important, and Chandler-Chavez to prove that it couldn't be her, leaving Caroline."

"What about the motive, boss?" Apollo said, choosing not to ask about why she thought the pot wasn't important. Something told him he wasn't going to like it.

"She also seems to think that Mr. Armando will be the key to that," Mr. Wright said.

Apollo and Mr. Wright moved to talk to Caroline. "Oh dear," she muttered to herself as she scrawled something in her notebook, "a conviction would not be within company policy…"

"Miss Caroline," Apollo said, "you knew that Org was a former criminal, correct?"

Caroline glanced up and looked directly into Apollo's eyes. "I did," she said curtly, "but William Waxman was my brother, and Ian Samuel Phillips was the man who had him sent to prison to cover for his crimes without paying. A car was the _least _he deserved."

She went back to writing in her notebook. "Is she telling the whole story?" Apollo whispered to Mr. Wright. She didn't seem too tense, at least.

"The magatama isn't reacting," Mr. Wright replied, equally as quietly, "but I get the sense that she's not letting on all that she knows…"

"Will the defendant and the defense please come to the court?" the bailiff called.

"Show time," Apollo said, "time to stop your wife's offensive in its tracks again."

* * *

_January 13, 10:00 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #2_

The gallery was packed today. Mr. Wright thought it was because of Armando's presence, and privately, Apollo had to agree. "Listen, Armando can be tricky and hard to understand sometimes, but out of everyone here the one most likely to understand him is my wife," Mr. Wright said in a low voice. Both their eyes were on Mrs. Wright, who was currently shuffling some papers. "We can't let her interpret for the Judge or we might have some problems…"

Apollo nodded, and the Judge banged his gavel. "Court is now in session for the resumption of the trial of Bertha Caroline," the Judge said. "When we last left off, the defense had proved the possibility of a random poisoning and the motive was shown to be somewhat weak. I trust that the prosecution has investigated both these angles?"

"Of course, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "and at the moment we see no reason to discontinue suspicion of the defendant."

The Judge nodded. "I see," he said, "now, I assume that the defense is also prepared? I noticed that a request had been made for an emergency switch of co-counsels to Mr. Armando."

Apollo nodded. "There's apparently a strong likelihood that something might go wrong at the Wright residence today, so Mr. Wright may have to leave. In case he does, the defense requests that, assuming he's available, Mr. Armando take the position of co-counsel," Apollo said.

The Judge nodded. "Request granted," he said, "I know well enough the problems that teenagers can cause when they're off by themselves."

_You have no idea… _

"Thank you, your Honor," Mr. Wright said.

"Now, before we begin with Mr. Armando's testimony, I wish to ask the prosecution if the coffee pot found missing at the end of last session has been accounted for?" the Judge said.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "The coffee pot held poisoned coffee and was emptied on the 17th floor in the women's restroom by Ms. Morgan Fey, your Honor," she said, "apparently as an act of altruism. However, due to a train derailment last night that Ms. Fey was present at, she will be late to the court to testify."

The Judge nodded. "I heard about that," the Judge said, "forced me to stay the night at the bailiff's house! Ho ho ho ho ho!"

"Yeah… imagine that," Apollo said, mostly to himself.

"Very well," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution calls Mr. Diego Armando to the stand."

Armando took the stand, standing tall and proper in his orange prison jumpsuit, a coffee cup in one hand and the other in his pocket. His white hair looked clean but uncombed and his visor's three slots glowed red and produced a faint mechanical hum in the now-silent courtroom. Apollo could almost imagine smooth jazz playing in the background.

"Name and profession," Mrs. Wright said.

Armando smiled and shook his head, and then sipped his coffee. "Never tell the court redundant information," Armando said, "that's one of my rules." And then he went back to sipping his coffee.

Mrs. Wright slammed her hand on the desk. "Name and profession, Mr. Armando," Mrs. Wright said, sounding very stern, "I am the prosecutor, not you, and you will follow my rules."

"Ha. Looks like this kitten got some claws in the last eight years," Armando said, and he sipped more of his coffee. Then, leaning forward onto the witness stand, a cup in one hand and a smirk plastered on his face, he said, "it's about time."

"I have been prosecuting for four years, Mr. Armando," Mrs. Wright said stiffly. "But because Mr. Armando won't talk-"

"My name's Diego Armando, alias Godot. Prosecutor, defense attorney, and coffee aficionado," Armando said, with a completely straight face.

_So this is the famous Diego Armando… _Apollo thought, _and he's already under Mrs. Wright's skin…_

"Why do you have all that police protection then?" the Judge asked, wide-eyed, "is it all security?"

"The police take their coffee seriously," Armando said, still with a straight face, "and before you ask, the jumpsuit's a fashion statement."

Mrs. Wright sighed again while Apollo marveled at how Armando could make such an obvious lie… and based on the Judge's face, get away with it too. Speaking of the Judge, he nodded. "I can understand wanting to make such a fashion statement," the Judge said, "although, thinking about it… weren't you sent to prison?"

"Mr. Armando was sent to prison for obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office, and conspiracy to shift blame in a worst-case scenario situation," Mrs. Wright reported, "all in relation to the investigation of the death of Misty Fey in February 2019."

The Judge nodded, and something occurred to Apollo: hadn't Armando been put in prison for murder as well? Was Mrs. Wright trying to skew the opinion of the Judge? And did the Judge seriously not remember that case even though Apollo was sure he presided over it?

"I remember that now," the Judge said, breaking Apollo's chain of thoughts, "I seem to recall giving Mr. Armando a 10-year sentence."

"He'll be out of prison in March 2029, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said.

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "Mrs. Wright, wasn't Armando put in prison on a murder charge?"

But instead of Mrs. Wright answering, it was the Judge. "It was proven in court that the death of Fey was justifiable homicide due to an attempt on the life of Maya Fey," he said, "so Mr. Armando was not guilty of any homicide charges."

"Oh… I, uh, didn't know that," Apollo said, scratching his head in embarrassment.

And Armando chuckled. "I'm not surprised," he said, "the media didn't cover that. They acted like this was all a murder trial."

"Well, don't worry, Mr. Armando," Mrs. Wright said, "to this court, your past crimes do not matter."

"If they did, you wouldn't be prosecuting either, eh, Wright?" Armando said, and he sipped his coffee.

Mrs. Wright's composure slipped for a moment into annoyance and then she took a deep breath and continued: "Mr. Armando, we are only concerned with the trial of Gus Org eight years ago, which you were the prosecutor on. Please explain that case to the court."

"Hmph. Gladly." Armando took a sip of his coffee.

"Here we go…" Mr. Wright said, and Apollo glanced at him and saw that he looked exasperated. "Good luck, Apollo."

Armando finished sipping his coffee and began: "it was eight years ago, December 14th, 2018, if I recall correctly. Gus M. Org, an employee of Mexico Biogenetic Agriculture, was arrested for manslaughter of environmentalist-friendly electronics billionaire Ian S. Phillips," he said, "it was a low-key trial I took because nothing was going on that day. In all respects it was an open-and-shut case… until the autopsy report was sent an update that caused me to argue for increased charges to deliberate vehicular homicide."

The Judge nodded. "Very informative, Mr. Armando," the Judge said, "Mr. Justice, any objections?"

"No, your Honor," Apollo said. "However, we do wish to cross-examine."

The Judge nodded. "Please begin your cross-examination."

"Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "could you please explain to the court the reason the autopsy report caused increased charges?"

Armando shook his head and drank his coffee. Then, leaning on the stand again, he said, "All it takes is a hidden drop of milk to ruin perfectly good coffee, Red."

"…Red?" Apollo said, "that's not supposed to be me, is it?"

Armando said nothing and sipped his coffee. "Please translate," Mr. Wright said.

"What he means, Phoenix, is that Org's light sentence was destroyed by a dark misdeed," Mrs. Wright said.

"Yeah," Armando said, "one that was sugar and one that was salt."

"Somebody please explain," the Judge said. Apollo wasn't understanding any better.

"There were two things that I threatened to use to increase Org's charges," Armando said, "but only the autopsy report was used. Org plead guilty before the court could hear about the other thing."

"The other thing?" Apollo said. He had a _bad _feeling about this…

Armando smirked. "The motive, of course," Armando said, "however… I don't remember it anymore. It's been eight years in prison and I've had other things to think about… and besides, I never wrote it down."

"But there was someone who told you," Mrs. Wright said, "correct?" Armando smiled and sipped his coffee in response.

"Mr. Armando," the Judge said, "is this true?"

"…yes, your Honor," Armando said.

"Then please testify regarding this."

"…all I remember is that it was Dr. Ivan Kamosinko who told me about it," Armando said. "It was at the same time as he gave me the autopsy report, the one proven in court to be a forgery."

"Hold it!" Apollo said, "Mr. Armando. Was it really a forgery? How did they prove it?"

"Simple," Armando said, "according to the report, Org hit Phillips once, then backed up and hit Phillips again. However, in closer examination of the car and the body's pictures, the defense of Org in late 2019 was able to prove that the car had only hit him once, killing him. It was manslaughter, not murder. However…"

"There was a reason for Dr. Kamosinko to modify the report?" Apollo said.

Armando nodded. "That's what he told me. It was the motive," Armando said, "at least, that's what I think it was in retrospect." He smiled at the court. "Naturally, I have no other connection to Org besides that." The crowd began talking loudly, clearly sensing that Armando's testimony was almost ever.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Armando. It seems for the motive we'll need to bring Dr. Kamosinko to the stand-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and the crowd fell silent. "Mr. Armando! Please do not lie to the court! Two days ago, in a discussion that Detective Skye and Mr. Wright and I had with you, you mentioned that you had a coffee bean-testing deal with Mr. Org. You also seemed to believe that there was more to this case than you knew about and said, specifically, that 'the secretary being the killer is too simple and too easy for a man like Gus Org'. For someone who supposedly forgot about Org's past beyond a forged report, you seem to have a lot of confidence in him!"

Armando shook his head and sipped his coffee. Apollo suddenly felt nervous- what was Armando going to do?- when he suddenly spit the coffee all out.

The crowd burst into greater discussion. "Order! Order! Order! Mr. Armando, please explain to the court what you meant by that comment!" the Judge said.

"I- well," Armando said, his visor smoking, "it's a long story…"

"And we have all day," Apollo said, slamming his hands on the desk. "Tell us it, Mr. Armando! Tell us why you also decided to increase charges!"

"I wonder why he's lying and hiding something," Mr. Wright said. "I doubt Iris would try and hide something, so if she is…"

"Maybe Mr. Armando knows more about the motive than Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said. "If Mr. Armando left the stand, then we'd be left with whatever Kamosinko knew about the motive eight years ago, which would implicate Caroline. But if Armando knows more…"

"That's something I'd expect from someone besides my wife, Apollo," Mr. Wright said quietly. But Apollo noticed that his eyes were on Mrs. Wright, who was looking… somewhat nervous, actually.

"Well, Mr. Armando?" the Judge said, "your testimony, please?"

"I, well-"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "your Honor, the business transactions between the deceased and Mr. Armando has no bearing on this case. Furthermore, the comments Mr. Armando made were clearly deliberately supposed to invoke suspicion-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "Mrs. Wright, please do not assassinate the character of your witness! Mr. Armando clearly knows more than he's letting on! The defense requests that Mr. Armando testify immediately about what he told us at the prison visit!"

The Judge nodded and slammed his gavel down. "The defense's objection is sustained," the Judge said, "Mr. Armando, please testify before I drag you before this court for perjury."

Mrs. Wright cringed while Armando finally got over his smoking visor and summoned a cup of coffee. He shook his head and drank it. "…I'll testify," he said, "but I don't think the defense or the prosecution will like it."

"You of all people should know not to hide unpleasant truths, Mr. Armando," Mr. Wright said.

"…your point being?" Armando said, "most people can't take the bitter, acidic truth. They have to load it up with sugary lies and milky secrets to keep it from bothering them. And if my role is to add some of that sugar and milk to make sure the right verdict is found… I'll do it."

"So you contend that Caroline is guilty?" the Judge said.

"No, your Honor," Armando said, "I think that Kamosinko might not be as helpful to the prosecution as she seems to think." Mrs. Wright looked insulted and Armando smirked. "I can see that, Hawthorne," he said, spitting the last word like it was some sort of obscenity. "So quick to send the defendant to the cell you once inhabited? Ha- what's the difference between you and your sister now?"

"Objection!" Mr. Wright shouted, "do _not _compare-"

"Objection!" Armando shouted and he threw his coffee at Mr. Wright, splashing it all over his face. "I'll compare who I want to. Deciding who lives and dies based on some prior bias… what's the difference?"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, and then, more quietly, she said, "I'm basing my time here off of people like you and Mr. Edgeworth. For the moment, I am willing to believe the police department's view of events. But believe me, if I was Dahlia than I think Caroline would already be dead."

"…ha," Armando said, "well done, Wright. I was worried you wouldn't be able to defend yourself."

"I think he's backpedalling," Apollo told Mr. Wright, who nodded. "If she's like him, and she's like her sister, then…"

"Dahlia turned Armando into Godot," Mr. Wright said, "and it was Dahlia who resulted in Godot killing Misty Fey. He isn't showing it, but… that would've wounded him."

"You can stop talking badly about me now, you know," Armando said, and he sipped his coffee. "I do have working ears. It's just my eyes that don't work."

"Then don't talk bad about the prosecutor," Apollo said, "let's keep things professional, Mr. Armando. When you're back in prison you can complain about Mrs. Wright all you want."

"Very well," Armando said, "and now you can find out why I bumped up the charges. The truth is… Gus Org funded an ecoterrorist group, and tried to use it to attack his company's competition. He was partially responsible for sending Waxman to prison and killed Phillips to keep him quiet." The courtroom was so quiet that the smallest cough sounded like a gunshot. "And of course, he was the main factor in the destruction of the Great Banks Dam that killed hundreds of people when it was destroyed. Only a select few ever knew that… but that included some very interesting individuals… people like his son, or his secretary… or his killer."

And then the crowd's uproar became so loud that the Judge was unable to restore order.

* * *

_January 13, 11:04 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

"That was _quite _the bombshell," Apollo said, "Miss Caroline, did you really know?"

"…yes, I did," Caroline said. She did not even take out her planner to check. "My brother was chosen as a scapegoat because he found out the names of two of the three bankrollers of the terrorist group that destroyed the Great Banks Dam."

"I remember the media calling it the 'Blue Earth Liberation Legion'," Mr. Wright said.

Caroline nodded. "Officially, that was their full title, although they usually went by the name 'Blue Earth'," she said, "my brother told me about them in prison. Of their backers, one, Mr. Org, used them to destroy his competition. The other, Mr. Phillips, used them to bring about his environmentalist views."

Apollo nodded. "And you became Mr. Org's secretary in the hopes of one day getting revenge for your brother's death?"

"No," Caroline said, "I became Mr. Org's secretary in the hopes of one day finding conclusive proof and having him tried for his part in the dam bombing. If I just killed him or brought him down because of my brother, it would be for revenge. Not for justice."

"I see," Mr. Wright said, "why didn't you tell us that from the beginning?"

"Who would believe me?" Caroline replied, "Mr. Wright, I know you have a reputation for trusting your clients and that's why I hired you. However… I've hidden this knowledge for nine years. I've worked hard to be able to get the chance to bring Org to justice… and I lost it. I lost it all."

"Don't worry, Miss Caroline," Apollo said, "we'll catch that man's killer and bring them to justice in Org's stead. I know it's no equivalent, but…"

"That'll be nice," Caroline said.

"Court has resumed," the bailiff said, poking his head into the room.

And then Mr. Wright got a phone call. "Hello? Pearls? …what!? I'll be right there!"

"Something wrong, boss?" Apollo said, and in spite of himself he began tensing up. Had Trucy hurt herself-

"Maggey lit herself on fire…" Mr. Wright said, "I have to go, Apollo, when Armando's done he'll take over as co-counsel. I'm going with Gumshoe- tell Iris where I am!" And he dashed out of the room.

"Well…" Apollo said to Caroline, "hopefully things won't go badly…"

"Hopefully," Caroline said, back to her sharp normal self, and she strode into court.

* * *

_January 13, 11:15 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #3_

Armando was still at the stand and the crowd was now smaller and quieter, all under the Judge's stern gaze. Mrs. Wright entered the courtroom and glanced at Apollo with a momentary look of confusion, and then she said, "Maggey?"

"Caught herself on fire, ma'am," Apollo said.

Mrs. Wright sighed. "Court is now in session," the Judge said, "and the biggest offenders have been removed from the gallery. However, if this court becomes uncontrollable again…"

"Shouldn't be a problem, your Honor," Armando said, and he smirked. "I believe I was talking about Org's ties to the Great Banks Dam?"

"You were," Mrs. Wright said, "how did you find out about the ties?"

"Two people," Armando said, "Caroline and the coroner. The coroner first told me about it-"

"And we'll call him to testify for more information," Mrs. Wright said.

Armando nodded. "And Caroline, who handled the testing program for MBA that I was part of," Armando said, "and because I was the prosecutor on his case, grilled me for information."

"Is this true, Miss Caroline?" the Judge demanded. Caroline nodded. "Then why did you not inform the court-"

"Would you take a drink from a chipped mug that cut your tongue?" Armando said, and he shook his head and drank some of his coffee.

"…what?" the Judge said. Apollo felt just as confused.

"I believe he's trying to say that the defendant does not trust the legal system," Mrs. Wright said, and she smirked. "I'm sure I don't have to explain why."

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "please do not twist Mr. Armando's words!"

"Well put," Armando replied, "but that's not what I meant, Wright." Mrs. Wright recoiled and Apollo breathed a sigh of relief. The case wasn't looking good right now, so any relief helped. "What I mean is that the men who put her brother in prison escaped any real punishment. And when Org had the best chance to be uncovered and put in prison for what he did in the dam bombing, the prosecution used forged evidence and never got the chance to reveal why he'd murdered Phillips… meaning that within a year Org was out of prison and back in his old position." He shook his head and added, "another victim of the Dark Age of the Law."

"Indeed," the Judge said, his eyes closed.

"Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "before we finish your testimony, you said that you didn't believe that Caroline was the murderer but you haven't explained that yet."

Armando nodded. "Oh, that's very simple," he said, "now tell me, does the prosecution have any objections?"

"…no," Mrs. Wright said. She looked tense, her eyes firmly on Mr. Armando, glaring slightly.

Armando chuckled. "Here goes," he said, "why I didn't think that Caroline is the killer." He took a quick swig of coffee and continued: "it's very simple why I didn't think that Caroline could be the killer. Two words: Marvin Org. He was the victim's son who died in a car crash shortly after he left his father's house three weeks ago." Armando smirked. "I'm sure I don't have to explain what the killer might've thought."

The crowd broke into loud conversation, but the Judge quickly quieted it. "Mr. Armando," the Judge said, "are you claiming that there were _two _motives for a murder?"

Now was the time to go on the offensive. "No, your Honor, three," Apollo said, slamming his desk to get the Judge's attention. "Along with the death of William Waxman, there are two other motives in this crime: the bombing of the dam almost ten years ago and the death of Marvin Org!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, and then she added, her hands behind her back and leaning forward with a smile, "Mr. Justice, surely you know better than to use such dubious motives to try and persuade the court. The bombing of the dam was ten years ago, after all, and a car crash is a car crash. To all but the most paranoid of people, it is no motive."

And then Apollo smiled and crossed his arms. Was this how Klavier felt when someone walked into a trap? "Mrs. Wright, I'm glad you agree," Apollo said, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice, "it _is _pretty ridiculous that someone would kill someone else for a murder that happened eight years ago."

"…!" Mrs. Wright stumbled backwards, her hair flying behind her, and next thing Apollo knew her head was down at the desk, he hands over her head.

"Thank you for proving my point, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said triumphantly. "Your Honor, the defense charges that the motive in this case was not the bombing of the dam or the death of William Waxman, at least directly, but rather the death of Marvin Org!"

The crowd burst into discussion again and the Judge silenced them. "Mrs. Wright," the Judge said, "does the prosecution have anyone who can testify regarding Marvin Org and any possible ties to this case?"

"Y-yes, your Honor, but I'll have to speak with Dr. Kamosinko first," Mrs. Wright said. She looked angry, or perhaps, disappointed now.

The Judge nodded. "The court will now take a 20-minute recess," the Judge said, "and Mr. Armando will take the place of Mr. Wright as co-counsel officially, now."

"Thank you, your Honor," Apollo said.

The Judge slammed the gavel down.

* * *

_January 13, 11:46 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

"It's been about fourteen years since I last did this," Armando said, "and I've got to admit that the kitten I was helping then is better-looking than you."

"…thanks, Mr. Armando," Apollo said dryly.

"You're welcome," Armando said, and he sipped his coffee. "If I hadn't told the court about Marvin Org, then you'd have never been able to disprove the motive, would you?"

"More like if Mrs. Wright hadn't blindly walked into Apollo's trap," Ema said suddenly. Apollo turned around to see her enter the lobby, a hand in a bag of Snackoos. "You're doing great, Apollo," she said, and she threw a Snackoo at him. "Thanks to Mr. Godot."

"I have that ability," Armando said, and he guzzled his coffee. Great… a coffee-chugger and a Snackoo-aholic.

"There's no need to be so hostile, Ema," Apollo said, "is there a reason you're in here?"

"Actually, there is," Ema said, and she crossed her arms and looked at Apollo smugly. "Well, is there anything you need my scientific expertise for?"

"Why?" Apollo said, "we're doing fine."

Ema snorted. "Not for much longer," she said, "Kamosinko's up next and there's a reason no one ever calls him to the bar courts. Besides, Miss Caroline just admitted to having a motive in front of the court, and you have no proof that this third party's motive is the one you proposed."

Apollo almost had a heart attack. She was right. "Maybe _I _walked into _her _trap…"

"I doubt it," Armando said, "you both just got lucky. However, there's something I noticed: at the end of the trial yesterday, the transcript shows the Judge as asking five questions. So far, only one has really been answered."

"You're right," Apollo said, "and most of those revolved around Orson…"

"Well, then I guess I _can _be of assistance," Ema said. "Listen, Apollo, I want to help you before I go. As much as I want to wipe your silly smug little grin off your face, I kinda owe you for making you stay at my apartment last night, so…"

"Oho?" Armando said, a huge smile lighting up his face, "what's this?"

"Train derailment," Ema said quickly.

"She was tired," Apollo said, also quickly.

"Totally an accident."

"Wouldn't've happened otherwise, Mr. Armando."

"Ha, I get it. You're both redder than freshly-spilt blood and acting like schoolchildren to boot," Armando said, and he swigged his coffee. "Just go back to your business."

Ema coughed and looked away. "Listen, Apollo, the new guy apparently loves justice, and Mrs. Wright told me when this case started that I'm supposed to do whatever I can to make sure that the defense and the prosecution is completely informed. So. Is there something you need scientifically investigated?"

Apollo closed his eyes and put his finger to his temple. Was there anything that needed to be looked at? Or rather, was there anything that Mrs. Wright missed? He couldn't quite think of anything, except for that… burnt… report…

"Ema," Apollo said, "is there any way you could find out what was written on that 12-2 Report that Orson burnt?"

Ema tilted her head again and smiled (genuinely for once) at him, one hand on her glasses. "You're in luck, Mr. Justice," she said, "I just _might _be able to find that out. Might take me a little, though."

Then she ran out of the room. "Well," Armando said, "new strategy: deflate Wright's argument and stall until Skye arrives with our decisive evidence."

"You think it will be decisive?" Apollo said.

"It all rests on that sweetheart, which we'll need to bring up if Wright or the Judge don't," Armando said, "and I'm willing to bet that whatever else's on that report is the key to blowing this case sky-high."

* * *

_January 13, 12:06 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #3_

When Apollo, Armando, and Mrs. Wright resumed their places at their desks, the Judge and Dr. Kamosinko were already in place. Armando was drinking coffee and looking entirely unconcerned while Mrs. Wright was tense; Kamosinko was looking into his hat for some reason and the Judge had his gavel in hand. "Mrs. Wright, Dr. Kamosinko is the witness in question?" the Judge said.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "Dr. Kamosinko was the coroner for Marvin Org as well as his father, and was also the chief coroner at the time of the Org trial eight years ago," she reported.

The Judge nodded. "Very well," the Judge said. "Court has now resumed."

"Your name and occupation, please," Mrs. Wright said.

"Dr. Ivan Kamosinko, coroner, oil company founder, American, Russian," Kamosinko said in a thick Russian accent, putting his hat back on his head and running a hand through his thick black beard.

"Dr. Kamosinko, I want to begin by clearing something. Did you or did you not fabricate or exaggerate in the autopsy report of Ian Phillips in December 2018?" Mrs. Wright said.

"…da," Kamosinko said, "it was long time ago. At first I sent normal report and let prosecution go for manslaughter. However, I realized that Org was coconspirator and funder for Blue Earth terrorist group that I investigated and funded for CIA. So instead I inflated new report and sent it to prosecution, and told Godot about Org's membership in terrorist group. But Org plead guilty to vehicular homicide and motive never brought up."

"I see," the Judge said, "and why didn't you tell anyone after he left prison about his involvement?"

"How you say, gag order from CIA," Kamosinko said, "Org still useful. Godot put in prison months after. No one cares about opinion."

"I see," the Judge said, "and the gag order is now off?"

"Da, Org is dead," Kamosinko said.

"Very well," Mrs. Wright said. "Dr. Kamosinko. Please testify to the court regarding the death of Marvin Org."

"Da," Kamosinko said, and he pulled a report out of a scalpel-filled pouch on his belt. And he began: "Marvin Maxwell Org. Occupation: college student, literature major. Attended noted university in northeast United States. Very wealthy. Died January 1, 2027. Cause of death: how you say, blunt force trauma to head from smashing into dashboard." Kamosinko pulled his hat off and touched his head on the left-back, up and right from the ear. "Injury was here. At time of crash, Org was looking behind him and slightly down, like in cars with no rear-view mirrors or cameras. That distraction cost him life."

"A sad tale," the Judge said, "Dr. Kamosinko, what do you think of the claim that Marvin Org's death might've been foul play?"

Kamosinko stroked his beard, as if thinking, for a full minute. "It appears that he does not think it very likely," Mrs. Wright said, "unless the good doctor is willing to speak soon. I know I warned you about this, doctor."

"…it is very possible that death was foul play," Kamosinko finally said. Mrs. Wright merely nodded. Had he told her something?

"He's not going to tell the whole story," Armando suddenly said, reminding Apollo that he did, in fact, have a co-counsel. "I can already tell."

"What makes you say that?" Apollo said.

"Sister Iris over there isn't really the type to lie so easily," Armando said, gesturing at Mrs. Wright with his coffee cup. "She's kind of a wimp like that. And while it's been years… I think she's telling the truth about warning Kamosinko. However…"

"Kamosinko's trying to decide what to leave in and leave out?" Apollo said. Kamosinko was running his hand through his beard again; it seemed he was still thinking.

"Every witness has a reason for lying, and it's the defense's job to pull it out of them. That's one of my rules," Armando said, and he drank some coffee.

"Dr. Kamosinko," the Judge said, "have you decided-"

"Da," Kamosinko said. "It is very simple. I think death was foul play. It is simple explanation: I did not include in summary, but Marvin Org's body was mutilated by natural gas container explosions. Containers in itty-bitty pieces, but police found evidence of timer on containers. I think that reason for odd head injury was because Org heard sound that was probably gas leaking rapidly and turned around to see what the sound was and got in fatal accident."

"What happened in the accident in particular?" Apollo asked.

"Car slammed into tunnel wall at 70 miles per hour," Kamosinko said, "that is like running into brick wall at 70 miles per hour."

"I… gathered that, thanks," Apollo said.

Kamosinko nodded. "Now, foul play's cause clear: it was likely Bertha Caroline."

The gallery erupted in shocked conversation. "I can't believe this!" Apollo said, "he's not telling the truth, is he!?"

But Armando shook his head and took a long swig of coffee. "Didn't you hear me?" he said, "don't trust the label if you can't see the ingredients."

"…thanks, Mr. Armando," Apollo said. _Don't trust the label…_

The Judge finished silencing the gallery and said, "that seems like quite the claim! Do you have any proof!?"

"We do," Mrs. Wright said. "The electronic trackers on every container of natural gas are designed to be explosion-proof so that their purchase can be tracked in just such an occasion. Based on Mr. Org's testimony, his son was driving natural gas home to his friend's apartment at the time of his accident, which is why the police did not follow through. However, the containers were sold by Dr. Kamosinko's oil company and the sales numbers were in company registers. Those containers were purchased by Bertha Caroline."

"I-I see!" the Judge said, "well, with evidence like this it's time to render my verdict-"

"Objection!" Armando shouted. "The witness has already admitted to using forged evidence once. The defense demands to see proof that he's telling the truth."

"Don't worry, Mr. Armando," Mrs. Wright replied, smiling serenely at him, "I made my career out of stopping these allegations. The information has already been sent to courtroom computers, and it has not been tampered with. Bertha Caroline, or at least Bertha Caroline's credit card, purchased those containers. Unless the defendant claims that she lost her card?"

"It is against company policy to lose credit cards," Caroline said stiffly.

"Then you did purchase those natural gas containers?" the Judge demanded.

"…I did," she said, "and I left them with Mr. Org, along with a choice bit of information: that his son, Marvin, was an FBI agent assigned to the dam bombing investigation to find the last donor."

The gallery was silent yet again as Apollo realized exactly what Caroline had just admitted to: planning on goading Org into murdering his son. "…that's what you meant by the chance to bring Org to justice," Apollo said, trying very hard to control his voice.

"Why didn't you reveal what you knew to get him sent to prison on the dam bombing?" Armando said.

"Because CIA was protecting him, da?" Kamosinko said.

Caroline nodded. "Oh, it was very simple. Nothing he's done can get him in prison," she said, "so I had to make sure that he committed a crime."

And the gallery exploded into noise again. "Order! Order! Order! ORDER!" the Judge roared.

"Miss Caroline!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "this is an admonition of guilt!?"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. Defending Caroline now sickened him, but… "this is not a trial for the murder of Marvin Org! This is a trial for the murder of Gus Org!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted back. "I _will _make Caroline pay for her crimes!"

"Objection!" Apollo replied, taking full advantage of his Chords of Steel to be heard over the crowd, "and she will, but not for the murder of Gus Org! There is a second murderer here who must be found or they will be allowed to go free!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "it is now clearer than ever that Caroline had a clear motive and opportunity! The prosecution demands a verdict!"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, and he threw his coffee at Mrs. Wright. "The facts are still too murky to make a decision on _either _murders."

What? What was he saying? She just admitted to it! And based on Mrs. Wright's reaction, she had the same confusion and shock that Apollo felt. The Judge finally finished silencing the crowd and said, "excuse me, Mr. Armando? I was somewhat distracted…"

Armando summoned a coffee cup, shook his head, and drank his coffee. Then, pointing his coffee at the prosecution, he said, "you're not accounting for something. Caroline tried to entrap Org. That's clear and she should be tried for that. However, she was not the one who planted the natural gas bomb in Org's son's car. The real question here is who did _that_."

The Judge nodded. "That is certainly correct," the Judge said, "well, Mr. Justice? Does the defense have any alternative theories?"

Alternate theories? She was a murderer! Apollo thought for a moment. "The defense believes that Miss Caroline's plan was a success, your Honor," Apollo said, "Org killed his son by planting that bomb."

"Then question is," Kamosinko said, speaking up, "who is real murderer? Is it Org, who cannot be punished? Or is it Caroline, who set up death?"

"It was the final confirmation I needed," Caroline said simply, "I planned on revealing his part on Friday."

A killer!

"You willingly admit that you wanted Gus Org to murder Marvin Org so that you would have some way to send him to prison, then?" Mrs. Wright said.

Caroline flipped through her notebook then smiled. "Yes. That is what I'm saying," she said.

A madwoman who was willing to admit to what she did with a _smile_! To murder someone in cold blood to gain an edge! Someone like _Kristoph_!

"The prosecution believes that this is sufficient motive to prove to the court," Mrs. Wright said. "Unless there are any objections, I wish to dismiss Dr. Kamosinko from the stand for now."

"I-I-" Apollo said, "the defense… has no objections." Kamosinko nodded and left the stand while Apollo collapsed onto his stand, his head down. He couldn't stand to look at the court. His client… a killer. A monster. Killing an innocent person because of the sins of his father… because of her distrust of the courts!

"Your Honor," Apollo heard Armando say, "the defense requests a recess until Fey arrives. I assume it'll be some time before she does?"

"To my knowledge she was still at least half an hour away," Mrs. Wright replied, "and I think that Mr. Justice needs some time to adjust to this revelation. Dr. Kamosinko, please remain on hand in case we need more testimony regarding the victim's past with Blue Earth."

"Da."

"Very well," the Judge said, and Apollo heard a gavel fall. "There will now be a recess until Morgan Fey arrives at court!"

* * *

**A/N: You should go check out my collaboration fanfic with aireyverkhovensky. Why? Well, because this was technically as practice for _that_. However, don't expect things to be the same... (aireyverkhovenksy: this story is better, writing-wise, but the other fanfic is more fun).**

**Anyway, raise your hand if you saw that coming!**


	5. Trial, Day 2, Part II

_ January 13, 12:41 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Hallway Outside Defendant Lobby #3_

Apollo left the defendant lobby to calm down and consider the situation, leaving Armando to grill Caroline. A guilty client. Even if she wasn't the one who poisoned Org, like she claimed she didn't, that didn't change the fact that she was a killer. A murderer. A madwoman.

For a brief moment, Apollo remembered one of the teachings of Kristoph Gavin: evidence was everything in the court of law. Was that what he had to do? Think like Kristoph to get through this? Even if Caroline wasn't guilty of Org's killing, would Apollo have to defend her for Marvin Org's murder? No, he was being ridiculous… surely all he had to do was win this case and then let her hang…

"Apollo." Someone sat down next to Apollo, and based on her voice, it was Mrs. Wright. "Apollo," she said again, "look up. Look at me."

Apollo glanced at her. As opposed to her typical hardened look in court, the one that made her utterly unremarkable in Apollo's opinion, just another wannabe-chief prosecutor, Mrs. Wright had… softened. Her eyes were set on Apollo and her hands were folded in her lap. "Yes, Mrs. Wright?" he said, trying to put the unrest out of his mind. What did she want?

"Apollo," she said, looking directly into his eyes, "are you alright?"

What?

"Ma'am, I'm not one of your children. I'm an adult. I can handle this," Apollo said aggressively.

"You're practically Trucy's brother. You should hear the way she talks about you," Mrs. Wright said. "And you've only had four trials before this. Phoenix. Kitaki. Tobaye. Misham. You've never really had a guilty client."

"Your husband gave me forged evidence," Apollo said, "Vera was a forger!"

"And they weren't murderers, and please don't accuse Phoenix of being a forger. He's not," Mrs. Wright said, although Apollo wasn't sure if that was out of loyalty or indignation. In any case, she wasn't raising her voice. "Apollo, I know that Kristoph Gavin was your mentor for a long time. I also know that you've taken after my husband somewhat… surely there's something he told you, that he told me when I first became a prosecutor? Something about truth?"

Truth… "It's the duty of the prosecution and the defense to work together to find the truth," Apollo said bitterly. "Well, we found the truth. Caroline's a monster. I can't believe she did that…"

"Then you think that she was the killer? You think that I shouldn't call Morgan Fey and Irene Chandler-Chavez to the stand?" Mrs. Wright said, sounding more and more heated and determined as she spoke, "do you really think that what Orson told us should be ignored? Do you really think that because Caroline set things up so that Org would kill his son, that Org is exempt from blame and that Caroline must shoulder the responsibility for his death!? Even if that car crash was the motive for the murder, Apollo, that doesn't give you the right to turn your back on justice!"

"What do you know!?" Apollo snapped, "you've been trying the whole time to get Caroline stuck in prison! Just switch lawyers. I don't want to defend someone like her."

A murderer… he couldn't. No. Mrs. Wright glared at him, and then slapped him with what must've been all her might, because it hurt a _lot_. "Get a hold of yourself!" she growled, "what do _I _know? Do you _know _how many times I've worked to get someone I knew had to be innocent sent to prison!? It's my job! I'm a prosecutor! How many people do you think I've had to watch being taken to jail, sent in for life, pleading innocence while Mystic Maya's magatama shows me that they're lying!? How many times do you think I've seen monsters take the stand to try and send the wrong person to prison!? Unlike some lawyers I can name, I don't have a perfect record. I tried to take Feenie's ideal and apply it to the cases I looked at, and I didn't back away when I was assigned to try and send someone I knew was innocent to the death row, because I _knew _that Josephson and I could find the true killer because inevitably, the truth would be found or reasonable doubt would be proven!"

"I'm not you!" Apollo shouted at her, standing up.

"I should hope not," she said coldly, also standing up. "My _negligence_ is the reason that Mr. Armando wears that mask. My spinelessness was the reason that three people died, and that the man I loved was almost sent to prison for one of those murders. My whole life, I was a weakling who was so obsessed with trying to save my sister's soul that I let her use me over and over. Six months was too short. Why do you think I became a prosecutor? I'll tell you: so that what happened to Terry Fawles never happens again. But what did you do? You stood up to the man who trained you to be a lawyer. You took on cases that seemed impossible, worked to clear the name of a man the world thought to be a crook, exposed lies so vile that they never should've entered the court to begin with, and sought the truth no matter how painful it was to others. And now here you are. Acting like a _child_."

Mrs. Wright had spoken with more passion than Apollo had ever heard her speak. And he realized that this was the first time she'd actually been angry, really angry. Angry at him. And now… he was being a coward, wasn't he? Running from the problem? But maybe… maybe she was right. Maybe he _was_ acting like a child. The mere thought ashamed him. To think that he would act like Kristoph… to take only trials he knew he could win… or was it like Kristoph to defend the guilty and struggle for them to be released?

He didn't know what to do. He still didn't. But maybe Mrs. Wright was right. He had to overcome this. Yes! He would _have _to overcome this! But… he was so confused.

"Haven't you ever heard about the Matt Engarde trial?" Apollo was snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head slightly to see Amulek Josephson, dressed like he was last night, standing across the hallway. "Nine years ago, a certain lawyer was forced to defend a man who hired an assassin. Until him, that lawyer had a continuous winning streak from the beginning of his career. He took only clients who were innocent, after all. During that time, that lawyer had to make a hard decision, despite the anger of the crowds: whether to argue for Engarde to go free or not, despite his obvious guilt."

"I know about that, Mr. Josephson," Apollo said, irritated. He was the on the verge of a realization, he knew it! Why was Josephson bringing that up? What relevance did it have?

"Now tell me, Mr. Justice. What was the proper course for that lawyer?" Josephson said.

"Guilty," Apollo said automatically, "he was guilty."

Mrs. Wright, however, looked down and away from Apollo and Josephson. "…yes. He was guilty," she said, "but… not until Mystic Maya was found."

What was she talking about? "Something happened to Mr. Wright's old friend?" Apollo said.

"Yes. While it wasn't reported due to the… unique situation the defense was in, that lawyer's co-counsel had been kidnapped," Josephson said. "However! I think he would've been perfectly justified to argue not guilty until the very end, like he did. Admittedly, Engarde plead guilty due to offending that assassin. But still. The precedent has been set."

"No one important to me is in danger, though," Apollo said. Was this guy for real? "This is nowhere near comparable."

"Is it?" Josephson said, and he added, "how about a different take. Mr. Justice, does Caroline deserve representation? Did _Engarde _deserve representation?"

"Well… of course," Apollo said.

Josephson nodded. "Innocent until found guilty is the law of the land, even if the legal culture has become the opposite. Caroline and Engarde are just as deserving of a proper defense as Wright was in the murder of her aunt, or Misham in the murder of her father. While it's true that Wright and Misham were innocent, this had to be discovered in court, just as Caroline and Engarde had to be found guilty in court. And in all four of those cases, it is not the job of the defense to find the truth. It is the job of the defense to defend their clients come Hell or high water, until the truth can be wrested out by the prosecution."

"That's what happens when the prosecution can cross-examine, though," Mrs. Wright said. "I can't do that here."

"So?" Josephson said, and he put one hand on Apollo's shoulder. "Mr. Justice. I have defended people much, much worse than Caroline ever was. And that was all when I was just a bar defense attorney. Such as this is, in this dark age of the law, it's more important than ever that everyone, no matter their sins, be defended, Mr. Justice. It's all the more important that we defend the worst because we should not hold to the idea that only the innocent deserve protection. If we believe in equality before the law, then we must realize: the only way to find the truth is to not turn trials into witch-hunts. But that means that sometimes, the witches must be defended. Because no matter if they're guilty or not, they are still a human being. That we do not practice an eye for an eye anymore is proof that we have advanced: that no matter how inhumane these people are, that we will refuse to sink to their standards and become the pigs that are indistinguishable from man."

Apollo let Josephson's advice sink in, and nodded. "I'm sorry," he said, moving away, "I was just… overwhelmed. Mr. Wright always says to trust in your clients, but…"

"And do you think Phoenix would have any different advice?" Mrs. Wright said. "I've known him for almost eight years. And I can tell you that he would still advise you to trust in Caroline. Even if she was the one who killed Marvin Org, she can be separately tried for that. If you really think, for who knows why reason, that she is not the killer, then prove it in court. Don't abandon her to the wolves and let the real killer slink away."

The door to the defense lobby opened and at the same time someone ran up. "Apollo! Mrs. Wright! Mr. Josephson!" Ema called while Armando stepped out of the lobby, "Mr. Godot! Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Apollo said, "I'm fine now."

"Huh? Uh, Mrs. Wright, Morgan Fey's here," Ema said. Mrs. Wright nodded. "We're going to bring her to your lobby. Oh, and, Apollo. I found something," she said smugly. "We're not done analyzing it, but…"

"It should be just what I need," Apollo said. Mrs. Wright glanced at Ema in suspicion, and Ema responded by looking away from her.

"I, uh, wanted to help the defense like you instructed, ma'am," Ema said. Apollo felt embarrassed for her, but didn't know what to say. And Ema certainly looked embarrassed, as she was starting to blush. "You know. Orders."

"…I see you've convinced at least one detective that you're right," Josephson said. "Ta-ta, Mr. Justice. I hope to see how this trial turns out."

Josephson left, leaving Mrs. Wright to continue staring at Ema. "Well," she said, and then she smiled, her head tilted, "Ema, I can understand doing what you need to to help your, what did Pearl call it… 'special someone'. So, I'll leave you to help Fey."

"Uh, yes, ma'am- wait, special someone?" Ema said, looking shocked.

"It's little Pearl's term for boyfriend/girlfriend stuff," Armando said, finally chipping in. "You shoulda heard her talk about Wright and Maya. 'Mystic Maya's special someone, Mr. Nick'. I understand she was very bitter when it was her sister, not her cousin, who married Mr. Nick."

"Yes, well… Phoenix made his choice," Mrs. Wright said, "and it's not like we've excluded Mystic Maya! I mean, technically speaking, I'm still a Fey and Phoenix married in, not the other way around…"

Ema coughed nervously and left, and Apollo wondered if this meant that it was actually Mr. and Mrs. Fey. Trucy Fey? Was that her real name, then? "Anyway, I did some talking with Caroline," Armando said, "and it looks like this exactly what we needed, Red."

"A good way to cement the prosecution's motive?" Apollo said. Even if he would defend her, things weren't looking good…

But Armando smirked widely. "Ha! Is that what she told you?" Armando said, "no, this is what we needed to destroy the motive entirely."

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Wright said. She had tensed up again, her brow furrowed.

"Well, one of you, tell me: Caroline set things up so that Org would kill his son, yes?" Armando said.

"Indeed," Mrs. Wright said.

"Then tell me something: the purpose was to get something that Org could be tried for. In that case, why kill him?" Armando said.

Oh. That was a _very _good point. Mrs. Wright cringed and said, quickly, "well, perhaps, she was intent on killing the Orgs!"

"Ha. Sure," Armando said, "say she was. Why wait so long? Why wait until Monday in particular? The answer's all in the timing. Org was going to do _something _on Friday that she was going to interrupt with her accusation. That Org died early was not part of her plan. She couldn't tell me what it was because she claimed she didn't know. And I'm inclined to believe her. I don't know if even that demon knew." He smiled again, and then said, "it looks like you're in a catch-22, Iris. Say that Caroline pushing Org to kill his son was exactly what happened, and your motive goes up in a puff of smoke. Say that she's lying and push on the original motive of Org's being a criminal and then having to answer why she waited so long. And if you wait too long and find out the truth…"

"Then we'll know she wasn't the killer!" Apollo said, getting his strength back. Yes! They would do this! Caroline would be found innocent for this crime, at least! Mrs. Wright, on the other hand, was blown back by the force of Mr. Armando's argument so hard that her hair fluttered behind her like she was facing a strong wind.

"No!" she said, "no, no, I can't believe- she must've waited-"

"Isn't it funny?" Armando said, "by admitting to a different crime she's gotten rid of her motive for the original. And unlike Mr. Atmey, I don't think she's lying."

Mrs. Wright recovered and, after opening her mouth once or twice, turned her back on the two without a word and strode down the hallway. "You're right, Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "now, to find the real killer."

"And to squeeze everything we can out of Morgan," Armando said, saying her name like it was some sort of disease. "But yes, Red. I'm not going to say we have this in the bag, because we don't. And Wright's not stupid. She has something planned for that coffeepot."

"Which means we need to go on the offense about the motive," Apollo said, "we need to turn her confession into our greatest weapon." _Once it's relevant again..._

Armando smiled. "Now you're thinking like a defense attorney."

* * *

_January 13, 1:25 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #3_

Court had settled and Morgan Fey was at the witness stand. Her arts-and-crafts project was in hand, steaming, and she seemed more focused on it than the actual court. Both Mrs. Wright and Armando seemed to be… well, apprehensive was probably the best word, because both Armando and Mrs. Wright were quite tense. And seeing as the former seemed like a very cool customer, second maybe only to Kristoph, Apollo had to wonder what exactly she had done.

"Witness," Mrs. Wright said, "name and occupation, please."

"…hasn't anyone ever told you not to interrupt when someone is drinking tea, good madam?" Morgan replied.

Mrs. Wright glared at her. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that in the court of law, the ones with the power are not the witnesses but the judge and the lawyers, good madam?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Manners should be practiced no matter where you are, Wright," Morgan replied, with the faintest hint of condescension in her voice.

Mrs. Wright's glare continued and she opened her mouth to speak. "Now, now, Fey," Armando said, a coffee cup mysteriously in hand (when did he _get _that?), "your dear mother's right. Manners are important anywhere. So let's ask nicely." He pointed his cup of coffee at her and said, "please give your name, occupation, and the reason you're cut off from Kurain village."

Morgan's eyes flashed. "Mystic Maya has chosen to believe a set of disgraced and corrupt lawyers over her own family," Morgan growled.

"Ha! I'm the closest thing to a brother-in-law that Maya has," Armando said, leaning forward, smirking.

"And technically speaking, Mr. Wright is actually Mr. Fey," Mrs. Wright said, "for professional reasons we decided to use 'Wright' in court. In any case, he is part of a branch family, much like you were."

"Please just tell the court your name," Apollo said. "Leave your family drama out of court, please."

"Hmph. Morgan Fey, secretary," Morgan said.

"…have you appeared in this court before?" the Judge said.

Armando nodded. "Your Honor, she testified in the second trial of Maya Fey, in mid 2017," Armando reported, "she was implicated for her part in the death of Misty Fey but never faced charges over it, and she was released from prison after a retrial on charges that Mr. Wright forged evidence to put her in prison."

"She has spent the last seven years moving from job to job, due to the fact that she has been barred from returning to her ancestral home thanks to her vendetta against the Master," Mrs. Wright said. "Her most recent endeavor was working for the victim."

The Judge nodded. "I can understand doing that," he said, "my brother once got involved in a vendetta with me for three days over an argument about whether the US or Canada was more important. During that time we didn't even call each other!"

"That's not even comparable," Apollo said quietly, blindsided by the Judge's cluelessness as usual.

"Mrs. Fey, please testify to the court regarding the coffee pot you removed," Mrs. Wright said.

"Hmph. Very well," Morgan said. She took a sip of her tea, and began: "it all happened on Monday. Mr. Org had taken one sip of his coffee and died. Caroline left to call the police, leaving me alone with the body. I left the room and went over to the coffee machine and took the coffee pot to the 17th floor to dispose of. I also took the sugar container, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and put it in the bathroom. Then I hid the pot so that no one could use it. If the police had asked, I would've shown it to them."

"I see," the Judge said. "Well. It seems that the police should be more thorough next time!"

"Indeed, good sir," Morgan said, covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve, "it shocked me that the police would be so unthorough, good sir, although I suppose that's not a surprise considering how easily they were duped into thinking that Mystic Maya could possibly be a murderer- three times!"

"Let's leave the police out of this," Armando said.

"Perhaps. A review _is _needed," the Judge said. "Mr. Justice. Your cross-examination, please."

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. He thought for a moment, and then said, "Mrs. Fey. You said that you hid the coffee pot. Could you please state where you hid it?"

"I hid it in my cubicle, good sir," Morgan said. "While I washed it out, I was afraid that my cleaning would not be thorough enough. If it had been poisoned, I did not want anyone to die."

"I see," Apollo said, his finger at his temple. "And how did the police not see it?"

"As the secretary, I have special filing cabinets. I removed my files from one of them to allow the coffee pot to be entered, and then moved the papers to my other filing cabinet," Morgan said. "The police did not ask to examine my filing cabinets because I was not under suspicion of murder."

"So it seems," Mrs. Wright said, "her story collaborates what we found. And I think I'll need to have a talk with Detective Gumshoe and Detective Skye…"

Well, to be fair it wasn't like Ema was in charge of the investigation after the initial arrest. "That's an odd move," Armando commented, "all that work to hide that coffee pot, just so that no one would drink it."

"It is suspicious," Apollo said, "but as it is there's nothing I can do. However… Mrs. Fey. You said that you also removed the sugar container?"

"I did indeed, good sir," Morgan said. "That is my handkerchief."

"Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "where was the poison container found?"

"The 18th floor," Mrs. Wright reported.

Apollo smiled. "Exactly," he said, "and yet the coffee pot was washed out on the _17th _floor. Isn't that odd, Mrs. Fey? Could you not make up your mind?"

But Morgan simply covered her mouth with her kimono again. "Are you accusing me of some conspiracy, good sir?" Morgan said, "I first removed the sugar container as I thought it was the probable poisoned object. But it was not until laying eyes on the coffee pot again that I thought to remove the pot itself, and for extra safety I brought it downstairs. Then I switched the pots so that the real killer would be thrown off-guard."

"This is a picture of the coffee-making stand after the time of death," Mrs. Wright added, "as you can see, there is a tea cup that was unaccounted for at the time, but was deemed unimportant in the investigation. However, it proves Mrs. Fey's testimony: she was in such a rush to stop further deaths that she left behind her beloved cup. It was returned at the end of the initial investigation by Detective Gumshoe. Furthermore, her fingerprints were found on the second coffee pot, along with none other due to it being washed." Apollo looked at the picture Mrs. Wright had submitted: it showed a coffee machine front-and-center, with a mostly-empty coffee pot in it. To the left side was the poorly-made mug that Morgan carried around, and to the right, mostly cut off, was a few containers.

"Looks like Fey just gave us the ammunition to destroy Morgan's testimony," Armando said. "How kind of her."

What was he- oh. "Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, "why did you single out the sugar container, in particular? And why did you choose to use a handkerchief to take the sugar container away?"

"That is very simple, good sir," Morgan replied, entirely unconcerned it seemed, "it clearly did not fit, and I did not want to contaminate the evidence with my fingerprints."

"The poison container is of a different style than the standardized containers used by the company," Mrs. Wright reported, "and it's only natural that the odd one out would be singled out as the source of the poison." Oh. Never mind, then.

Would Morgan have an answer for _everything_?

"Ha! Looks like it's all crumbling down," Armando said with a smile, and he drank his coffee.

"What are you talking about?" Apollo said.

"Think. Morgan removed the poison container and the coffee pot," Armando said, "and took great care with both to make sure that Caroline's fingerprints would be on the former and only Morgan's would be on the latter. However, if that's what she really did then something isn't right…"

Apollo nodded. He saw now. "Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, "you claim that you are telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I always do, good sir," Morgan replied.

"Objection! If that's the case, then you have a serious discrepancy to explain!" Apollo shouted. "Mrs. Fey! According to your testimony, you chose to remove the coffee pot after the sugar container, and yet switched it with another coffee pot. If any of the other additives had been poisoned, you would have risked killing someone."

"Don't be ridiculous, good sir," Morgan said, "Mr. Org drinks black coffee."

Apollo smiled and crossed his arms. "My point exactly, Mrs. Fey," he said smugly, "and yet _you removed the sugar container first!"_

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "it's no surprise that Fey would remove the sugar container! After all, _it was out of place!"_

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and he slammed on the desk and then pointed again. "Mrs. Fey! You had no reason to suspect that the coffee itself was poisoned unless you thought one thing: that Caroline was not the murderer! And yet, you took great care to not harm the prints on the sugar container!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright yelled, "Fey couldn't've known that Caroline's fingerprints were on that container!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "the container was Caroline's but went missing almost a month ago! As coworkers, it would be no surprise if Fey had found out about it!"

"Objection! This is all conjecture! As it stands, there is no way for you to prove that Fey was part of a conspiracy to implicate the defendant! The only objective evidence is simple: that Fey removed the sugar container and the coffee pot!"

"Objection!" Apollo said, and he crossed his arms. "Then don't you get it, Mrs. Wright? If Fey was really being altruistic like she claims, then there's something she should've done: gotten rid of the other additives. After all, she had no way of knowing which containers had poison in them, and based on her removing the pot itself, she apparently had sufficient belief that the real killer was not in the sugar shaker. She certainly seems to think that Caroline didn't add anything _now_."

Morgan's eyes flashed but she said nothing. Mrs. Wright was glaring at Apollo.

"And your point is?" the Judge said, "Mr. Justice, do you have a theory to explain Mrs. Fey's involvement: the real reason she switched the coffee pots and didn't remove the other shakers?"

"Time to pounce," Armando commented, "but always remember that just when you think the coffee is at its hottest, it can get much hotter."

"…thanks, Mr. Armando," Apollo said. Helpful as always, it seemed. He slammed his hands on the desk and addressed the Judge: "Your Honor, the defense has one very simple theory. The true reason that Fey removed only the coffee pot and the sugar container was because _she already knew that the poison was in those containers! _Further, _she removed the coffee pot to protect the real poisoner!"_

The gallery burst into conversation and then Mrs. Wright slammed her hand onto the desk. "It's more than possible that Fey didn't have the time to remove the other containers!" she said.

"Objection!" Apollo said, "Mrs. Fey! Detective Skye testified that it took the police ten minutes to arrive at the office building. Had you really been interested in stopping the poisoning, removing the two or three extra containers wouldn't've taken long and would still've given you enough time to switch out the coffee pots!"

Morgan's eyes glowed white again as she glared at Apollo. "You are a fool, good sir," she said curtly, "the police had arrived before I had any time to do anything about the remaining containers."

"Then please explain to this court why you chose the coffee pot next," Armando said, pointing his cup at her, "instead of the other containers."

"Or, to be more accurate," the Judge added, "please testify regarding why you thought that the coffee was poisoned from the beginning, instead of while it was in the cup."

Was the Judge siding with them? Was this real? "Very well, good sir," Morgan said, and she sighed mightily. "It is very simple, not some grand plan like the defense insists. I first removed the sugar container because it was the odd one out and the likely source of the poison. I then removed the coffee pot because it was the second-most likely source."

"Then you believe that there might've been a random poisoning incident?" Apollo said.

"It is possible, yes," Morgan said.

"However, it is possible that the pot was poisoned and then the first cup was given to Mr. Org as a way to throw the police off," Mrs. Wright said, "in essence, a version of the 'ABC' murders. It would've been well within Caroline's capability to do so."

"Because of what she did to Org's son?" the Judge said, glancing suspiciously at Caroline.

Mrs. Wright glanced at Armando and then back at the Judge. "…the prosecution does not wish to advance any theories about motive at this time," she said, "I do not wish to get sidetracked right now."

The Judge frowned but nodded. "Very well," he said, "however, I have a question. Why was someone killing the alphabet?"

"…it's a book, your Honor," Apollo said. It was true that it was possible, but like Armando pointed out not very likely. "However, I think that motive is something that should be addressed, Mrs. Wright. Based on Caroline's admission of her plans for Org's son and Org himself, she would have no motive to kill Org and then allow a random poisoning."

"What?" the Judge said, "I don't follow-"

"The prosecution believes she could still be lying," Mrs. Wright said, her hand to her mouth as she looked away, "even if she chose a roundabout way to kill Marvin Org. In any case, you have no motive for Fey to try and pin the crime on the defendant. You haven't even presented any proof."

"What do you do to make coffee more bitter?" Armando said suddenly.

"Huh?" Apollo said.

"What?" the Judge said.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Wright said.

"You heard me," Armando said, "what do you do to make coffee more bitter?"

"You add something?" the Judge said, "maybe… orange peels? Or battery acid?"

"…no, your Honor," Armando said, "you throw it out and get a new blend."

"…is there a point to that, Mr. Armando?" Mrs. Wright said.

"What do you when everyone keeps insisting that your coffee's bitter when it's actually sweetened?" Armando said, holding his coffee cup up.

"You… throw it out and get a new blend?" Apollo said.

"No," Armando said, "you do this!" And he threw his coffee cup at Mrs. Wright, covering her in coffee. Mrs. Wright blinked.

"Assaulting the prosecutor isn't very nice," the Judge said.

"She's a Wright. She can handle it," Armando said. "You're all missing something. Morgan. You said you switched that coffee pot. Why."

"As I already said, to confuse the killer, good sir," Morgan said.

"Then why did you need to replace it?" Armando said, "Fey. Tell the court: how many sets of fingerprints were found on the first coffee pot."

"…just two," Mrs. Wright said. And then she looked up, one hand hovering in front of her mouth. "Wait-"

Apollo slammed his hands on the desk. "Morgan Fey!" Apollo said, "if you really are innocent and were acting for simple altruistic reasons, then please explain to the court _why your fingerprints aren't on the first pot of coffee_!"

Morgan sipped from her tea… and then her eyes flashed white while she slammed the cup on the witness stand. Mrs. Wright, meanwhile, cringed backwards, and the gallery burst into very loud conversation. "I did not want to leave any fingerprints!" Morgan insisted.

"Objection!" Apollo said, "that would be the case if it weren't for the fact that _only _your fingerprints were found on the second pot! Meanwhile, you are in a unique position to know that the only people that used the first coffee pot that day were Org and Caroline!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright said, slamming her hand on the desk, "that pot was free to use by everyone!"

"Objection!" Apollo said, "and yet, only two sets of fingerprints were found on it, which implies that _someone deliberately emptied it so that the poisoned pot would be used by Caroline!_"

The uproar grew louder and Mrs. Wright's hair flew behind her again as she recoiled. "Order! Order! Order! ORDER!" the Judge roared, pounding his gavel, "Mr. Justice! Do you have any evidence to collaborate your theory?"

"Of course, your Honor," Apollo said, crossing his arms, "evidence is everything in the court of law, after all. The evidence is very simple: the mere fact that the first coffee pot only had two sets of fingerprints on it is proof that Mrs. Fey is either lying or is part of a conspiracy to implicate the defendant."

"I-I see!" the Judge said. "Well-"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "…I- I object! Mr. Justice is- um, I object for objection's sake!"

The Judge shook his head. "Objection overruled," he said. "Mrs. Fey. Please tell the court: are you lying?"

"I am no liar, good sir!" Morgan said, "everything I said is the truth. But I am not covering for anyone. Have you perhaps considered that I always carry coffee pots with the sleeve of my kimono? But I could not use my kimono to clean out the second coffee pot, so my fingerprints were left on it."

"That does seem to be an explanation," Mrs. Wright said, regaining her composure and slamming her hand on the desk. "The prosecution believes that this is the likely truth."

"Ha. Trying to be the Demon Prosecutor, I see," Armando said, and he shook his head and drank some coffee. "Red. I have no idea why Fey is covering for her mother. I guess she's that determined that Caroline is guilty. But if she's going to play the Demon Prosecutor, then you have to be his opposite."

Apollo nodded. He knew exactly what Armando wanted, and exactly what to ask. Apollo said, "Mrs. Wright, your Honor. Does the court or the prosecution have any problem with the defense asking some questions about Mrs. Fey's workplace."

Mrs. Wright's eyes narrowed but she shook her head. "I see no reason to object," the Judge said, "however. If you are unable to find anything wrong, then this court will have no choice but to continue on to the verdict. The depravity of the defendant has been shown, and all questions regarding the pot seem covered."

"Don't worry, your Honor," Apollo said, "Mrs. Fey. Did you know a man named Orson?"

"The feckless intern? Yes," Morgan said, "he started work on the day I met him."

Apollo smiled and crossed his arms again. "Of course, Mrs. Fey," he said, "that's what he told Mrs. Wright and I as well, along with some very interesting information."

"Oh?" Morgan said, covering her mouth with her kimono. "Is that so? Have you not considered that that man is a proven liar?"

"Oh, I know that," Apollo said, "so I just wanted to confirm with you that Orson burnt that report to cover for you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Morgan said sharply, "that was to cover for Chandler-Chavez. I had nothing to do with that note."

The court was silent.

"Ha," Armando said, summoning a coffee cup, "and how do you know that?"

"What?" Morgan said, "was it not discussed in court? Orson admitted on the stand that he burnt the report to cover for her. Did not the police recently arrest her?"

The court was still silent.

"How do you know that?" Mrs. Wright said, slamming her hand on her desk. The sound echoed through the court. "How do you know that the 'sweetheart' was Chandler-Chavez?"

"What are you talking about?" Morgan said, "he told you."

"He did, Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, and he took out a certain report. "However, the only ones who knew about Chandler-Chavez being connected to this crime in particular were two certain people that Mr. Orson told. And those two people were prosecutor Iris Wright and defense attorney Apollo Justice."

Morgan gripped her tea cup so hard that it shattered, causing blood to drip from her right hand. "WHAT!?" she snarled, "I know he talked about her!"

"He just talked about his sweetheart," Mrs. Wright said, and she slammed her hand on the desk. "Mother! Explain to the court how you know about the real name of the sweetheart!"

"He called me last night!" Morgan snarled, "and told me that he mentioned her name in court!"

"…then you were played for a fool," Armando said, and he sipped his coffee. "Ironic, for someone who was able to ruin so many lives through her manipulations," he added, slamming his coffee cup on the desk.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright said, and she pointed at Morgan, "it was impossible for you to have talked with Orson last night! He was under police surveillance, and if you had visited the detention center you would've been denied access!"

Morgan's eyes flashed whiter than Apollo had ever seen, and then she began gripping the witness stand so hard that it began to splinter, leaving a bloody print on the wood. "Good madam!" she shouted, "I know nothing!"

"Objection!" Apollo said, "you're clearly lying, Mrs. Fey! Just admit to what you were involved in already!"

The Judge brought his gavel down. "Objection sustained!" he announced, "Mrs. Fey. You _will _tell the court about how you knew about Chandler-Chavez, or I will see to it myself that you are given a trial for the events of Hazakura temple. After all, you were never tried for anything in that case… but the statute of limitations is yet to expire."

Morgan glared at the Judge so harshly that the Judge yelped and scooted back in his chair, and then with a snapping sound the witness stand broke. "Very well," she said stiffly, returning mostly to normal. "I will testify regarding Henry Orson." She paused, and then slammed her bloody hand on the stand. "Henry Orson was a new hire. I met him and his girlfriend when she accompanied him to work on Monday. Her name was Irene Chandler-Chavez. I had assumed that he had mentioned her name in court."

"I see," the Judge said, "and why didn't you tell the court this?"

"Because it has _no relevance_," Morgan spat.

Yeah, right. She was still lying. "Your cross-examination, Mr. Justice," the Judge said.

Apollo nodded. It was time to bring this witness' lies to an end. "Mrs. Fey," he said, "I want to know something. Why, exactly, did you try and claim that Orson spoke with you in prison?"

"Does that have any relevance? I was panicking," Morgan said curtly.

"No," Mrs. Wright said sharply, "it is entirely relevant. Why did you lie like that?"

"It's something so ridiculous that it's hard to believe she really made it up," Armando said. "But first, we need to prove that she's still lying."

"That's not hard, Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "after all, Mr. Orson testified that Miss Chandler-Chavez had him thrown out of her hotel."

"Lover's spats happen," Morgan said, "is this not known to you, good sir? I know you might have no experience, but surely you could ask the murderer beside you?"

"L-let's leave our love lives out of this," Apollo said, exasperated.

"Mrs. Wright," the Judge said, "did the prosecution follow up on Mr. Orson's claims?"

"We did," Mrs. Wright said, "he was thrown out Sunday night. The prosecution believes that this is an unlikely event, to say the least. However, it is still theoretically possible."

"Objection!" Armando shouted. He summoned a cup of coffee, shook his head whilst smirking, and took a deep drink. "You're disappointing me, Fey. Tell me. Why don't you call Mr. Orson and see if his story corroborates Morgan's?"

"They could plan something out, though," Apollo said.

"They could," Armando said, "and I wouldn't be surprised. Which leaves a second witness: the entry staff."

"The entry staff?" Apollo said to Armando, who nodded. "Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, addressing the court again, "I assume the police would be more than capable of finding out if the receptionists or security guards saw Miss Chandler-Chavez."

"We would be more than capable, yes," Mrs. Wright said, "and, considering the… unusual appearance of Miss Chandler-Chavez, I think it'd be more than possible to find someone to agree with your claims, Mrs. Fey."

"She did not enter via the front. She came with Orson via the back entrance," Morgan said, "there is no security there, because entry to the building there requires a keycard."

Armando shook his head, smirked, and drank some coffee… and then spat it out. "…well," Armando said, "there goes that plan."

"So in other words," Apollo said, "we have no way to prove that Morgan's never met Chandler-Chavez?"

"…I suppose not," Armando said. "Hmm…"

Apollo thought hard. Morgan claimed that she'd met Chandler-Chavez with Orson, and if Chandler-Chavez and Morgan were part of the killing then she'd have to be telling the truth. And yet she lied about Orson calling her… or did she? "Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "is there any way that Mr. Orson still had a phone?"

"Why wouldn't the police confiscate phones?" Mrs. Wright said, "they can't be that incompetent."

"…actually," Armando said, "I still have a cell phone, and I'm in prison. I wouldn't be surprised if Orson still had one."

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" both Apollo and Mrs. Wright shouted. Were they _really _that incompetent!?

"We definitely need that review," the Judge said, shaking his head sadly.

"Well, in any case," Apollo said, "the defense requests that Mrs. Fey testify regarding the phone call she had with Mr. Orson, and why she claimed it never happened."

The Judge nodded. "Mrs. Fey, please testify regarding the phone call."

Morgan sighed dramatically and placed her bloody hand on the shattered stand. "I received no phone call," Morgan said, "please forgive me for making things up wholesale, good sir, but I was panicking under the force of Mr. Justice's lies."

The Judge nodded. "Well, I suppose if you're sorry, I can let it go," the Judge said. _Seriously!? _"Mr. Justice. Your cross-examination."

"Y-yes your Honor," Apollo said. He couldn't believe the Judge was willing to do that, and based on Mrs. Wright's expression, neither could she. Armando seemed entirely unconcerned.

"Thank you, good sir," Morgan said, "I apologize for my behavior."

"I understand. Mr. Justice can be quite scary with his accusations. Sometimes he scares me!" the Judge said."Although I can't say he's accused me of murder yet…"

"Oh, come on!" Apollo said, "I haven't accused Mrs. Fey of murder!"

"It's still impossible for her to be the murderer," Mrs. Wright stated. Apollo sighed.

"Pin-the-tail-on-the-lawyer," Armando said. "Ha. Just move on with your cross-examination, Red. Ignore the witness's pleading and excuses. That's one of my rules."

Apollo nodded. "Mrs. Fey," he said, "you may take in certain members of the court with your 'apologies', but I know one very simple one way to break your testimony in two." He smiled and crossed his arms. "Mrs. Fey, you maintain that you had absolutely no contact with Mr. Orson in prison?"

"Correct, good sir," Morgan said, her bloody kimono sleeve hovering in front of her mouth.

"Well, then, Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, "you are aware that the police are more than capable of tracking phone communications? We'd be able to tell where and when Mr. Orson called."

Morgan's eyes flashed white at Apollo. "I admit it," she said venomously, "the idiot called me. But he did nothing else."

What was she hiding? "Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, "did Henry Orson tell you that he said in court that he mentioned Chandler-Chavez by name?"

"Yes," Morgan said, "what of it?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Fey," Apollo said smugly, "for confirming your involvement in this conspiracy to accuse Ms. Caroline and to murder Gus Org."

Morgan pressed her kimono sleeve to her mouth, leaving a bloody spot over her mouth. "W-what!?"

"What are you talking about?" the Judge said, "what are you talking about?"

"Explain, Mr. Justice!" Mrs. Wright demanded, slamming her hand on the desk.

"It's very simple, your Honor, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said. "Mrs. Fey just confirmed for the court something very important: that Henry Orson contacted her from prison and told her what happened in court. He has no reason to do so except for one very specific reason: that he was working with Fey _to protect the true killer_, Irene Chandler-Chavez!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "that's quite the assumption, Mr. Justice! But if that is the case, then what about the fact that Orson destroyed that file? Why couldn't Fey do that!?"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, "you know she hates to get her hands dirty. She wouldn't deign to destroying the report itself. But distracting Org at a meeting? Sure."

"Then what about pinning the blame on Caroline?" Mrs. Wright said, "what would she benefit from that?"

"The nearest available target," Apollo said, "or somehow someone in this plan found out about Caroline's hatred of the victim and her role in Marvin Org's death, which wouldn't be that unlikely- after all, two of the three members of this conspiracy were friends with Marvin from college!"

"Then what would she get out of it!?" Mrs. Wright demanded, "there's nothing to gain!"

Wait… what was the reason. "I-I don't know-" Apollo said, his hand on his head, "I guess I got-"

"The train," Armando said. "There's your motive."

The courtroom's low level of discussion died out instantly, and Morgan glared at Armando. Mrs. Wright looked confused and then she began noticeably tensing up. So did Armando. "Wait," Mrs. Wright said, "that wasn't the train-"

"It was, wasn't it?" Armando said. "That was the only train to Kurain village that suddenly derailed last night, with no warning. Almost as if it were sabotage."

What were they talking about? Armando's hand clenched so tightly that he shattered the coffee mug. "Your Honor!" Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution requests an immediate recess!"

"Request denied," the Judge said, "what's going on? And why is everyone getting blood all over my courtroom?"

"I-it's very simple, your Honor," Apollo said. What was going on? Mrs. Wright was no longer paying attention; she'd whipped out her phone and was speaking rapidly with someone. And then thought occurred to Apollo. "Kurain village is the home of the Feys, correct? And Mrs. Fey has a vendetta against them?"

"All lies, I assure you," Morgan said, and she clenched her bloody hand. "Mystic Maya is in no danger at all."

And, of course, she tensed up as well. "Mrs. Fey," Apollo said, "you don't normally clench your hand."

"Your point being, good sir?"

"That you're hiding something," Apollo said, "and besides, clenched hands are usually signs of aggression. This 'Mystic Maya' person seems to be in danger."

"That's exactly it, isn't it?" Armando said, "someone derailed the train and cut off Kurain village. You're trying to kill Maya again, aren't you?"

Morgan smiled ever-so-slightly… "There's nothing that can be done, good sir," Morgan said, "a new master can be found and a village can be rebuilt. Sometimes, the old must be destroyed to promote the better, the healthier, the newer."

Mrs. Wright terminated her phone call. "Mr. Edgeworth is mobilizing the police," she said tersely, "your Honor, please adjourn court now."

"No," the Judge said, "we cannot suspend court proceedings yet!"

"Don't worry," Apollo said, "Mrs. Fey! The defense wishes to formally indict you with conspiracy to shift the blame to Caroline!"

The crowd's roar was starting to become louder and louder. Mrs. Wright turned and simply left the courtroom. "It seems the prosecution rests, your Honor," Armando said.

"Bailiff! Please fetch the prosecutor!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "your Honor! There is no longer a need for a prosecution at this time! Morgan Fey, admit to your crimes!"

Morgan laughed, just once, and placed her bloody hand on her chest. "What Mystic Pearl thinks of me will not matter," Morgan said, "so long as she is the master, I will gladly spend the last of my days in prison."

"Ha! As if Pearl would take the mastery anyways," Armando said, "you clearly underestimate Maya."

"…that's why we brought in some outside help," Morgan said lightly, "you'd be surprised at the kind of connections Blue Earth has. As powerful as channeling is, it's still no match for a few assault rifles."

A-ASSAULT RIFLES!?

"My word!" the Judge said, "what!?"

And Armando turned and left. "Your Honor!" Apollo said, "the defense, too, requests that court be adjourned, and that Mrs. Fey also be arrested for this plot!"

Morgan laughed a few more times and placed both her hands on the stand. "I-I am ready for whatever you might do, so long as Mystic Pearl takes her rightful place," she said. Blood was smeared on her face, her right sleeve was dripping blood, and a bloody handprint was on her chest. "W-whatever you migh-might do…"

And then she collapsed. A bailiff rushed forward and glanced up. "Blood loss," he said, "we need to take her to a hospital."

The Judge nodded. "In retrospect, I should've done that sooner," the Judge said. "And, in the absence of the prosecution, I suppose I cannot make a decision today. Court will reconvene tomorrow to finish the trial of Bertha Caroline. However, Mr. Justice, I wish to give you a warning: tomorrow will be the last day of this trial. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. He had to get out of here quickly to find out what was happening. He knew there was nothing he could do, but… "the defense understands, your Honor."

* * *

**A/N: Morgan is actually pretty fun to write! Also, don't assume that Caroline's off the hook for now.**

**And yes, this trial's going in to extra innings. Originally the second day of trial was supposed to be twice as long, but now that's a _little _different. More notes about the "behind the scenes" will come up as the story progresses.**

**As always, feel free to make your deductions early: but don't assume that everything's here just yet! As you saw with Caroline, things can change quickly in the court of law...**


	6. Investigation, Day 3

_January 13, 4:46 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Entrance Lobby_

When Apollo arrived at the entrance lobby, a massive crowd was gathered around the televisions. "Apollo!" Ema called from a nearby hallway, "follow me!"

Apollo turned and ran to her. "Is the news about the gunmen?" Apollo said.

Ema nodded. "The police have been sent to stop them, but they have a head start. It's about a two-hour trip by rail from here to the Kurain bus stops and the trains run about 240 kilometers an hour, so…" she said as they walked out of the courtroom.

"Uh, how much is that in American?" Apollo said scratching his head.

Ema sighed and Apollo could almost imagine her rolling her eyes. "That's 150 miles per hour, roughly," Ema said, "Kurain's a bit over 300 miles away from LA. Then again, we don't even know where they started from."

"Then why the news!?"

"Well," Ema said, and she didn't say anything after that. She lead Apollo into the car garage and jumped in her car. "C'mon! We need to go!"

"Why!?" Apollo yelled, but he got in nonetheless. As soon as he was in, Ema pulled out.

"Things are bad," Ema said, "look, it's just what Mrs. Wright told me to do. Police already have Caroline and Godot's with Mrs. Wright, so don't worry about them."

Then she revved the car and shot out into traffic. They passed an ambulance and then they headed into the city. "What's the problem specifically, Ema?" Apollo said, "what can we even do-"

"It's pretty simple," Ema said, "we need to get to the hotel Chandler-Chavez used."

"What? But what about the gunmen-"

"Does it look like we can do anything?" Ema said, "they sent out the heavy-duty cops and the National Guard, not little people like me. The reason there's so much news is because a news chopper found them on accident and's tailing the convoy right now, so we know exactly where they are. The only problem is, they'll be there in 20 minutes. With Morgan's admission in court, they've mobilized some National Guard helicopters, but there's no way of knowing if they'll be quick enough…"

"I can't believe she did that," Apollo said, "I can't believe she'd do something like this-"

"She already killed two people over this," Ema said, "if the court notes on the Hazakura incident are right, she almost tricked her nine-year-old daughter into killing Maya Fey. But if that really is Blue Earth…"

"How much power could Blue Earth have?" Apollo said.

Ema was silent for a moment. "Blue Earth was defeated after the bombing incident," she said, "but any other news would have to come from Dr. Kamosinko, I think. He's the only expert mentioned in court, at least."

Apollo nodded. "But at least now we've proven that Caroline isn't the killer, right?" Apollo said.

Ema shook her head. "Not yet," she said, "Morgan will be tried for _this _crime, but we only have her word on working with Orson and Chandler-Chavez on this particular crime. If those two can't be proven guilty, then our screwed-up system will still find Caroline the killer…"

"Yeah…" They arrived at the hotel, an impressively tall place called the Gatebridge Hotel. Police officers were already swarming. "But surely Mrs. Wright can't keep prosecuting Caroline after this?" Apollo said.

"It's the Judge that makes the decisions, not Mrs. Wright," Ema said. A few officers parted to let her and Apollo in. "Come on. Floor eight."

The ride in the elevator seemed to take forever, and Ema was just as tense as Armando and Mrs. Wright had been. "Do you think they'll stop the gunmen?" Apollo said.

"If the helicopters get there in time, yes," Ema said, "however… where did they find the trucks and the men? Something's still wrong about this…"

"It might not even be Blue Earth itself," Apollo said, "it might just be hired help."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out," Ema said, not looking at him. "Come on."

The elevator arrived at the eight floor and the doors slid open. The Gatebridge hotel was clearly very fancy, at least on this floor, with all sorts of expensive-looking vases, paintings, and lamps in between the sparse doors. Room 805, Chandler-Chavez's room, had its door held open with police standing guard.

"Ema! Mr. Justice!" Detective Gumshoe said, running out of the room, "did you hear the news, pal!? Maya and her village's in danger!"

"We saw, Gumshoe," Ema said, "Apollo was the one who pulled it out of Fey. Well, Apollo and Godot."

"Then let's stop standing around and telling each other things we already know and get down to business," Edgeworth said suddenly, emerging from room 805. "Follow me."

Room 805 was, in a word, high-class. From the decor to the massive TV to the obviously luxury furniture and linens, it both made Apollo jealous and disappointed him to see police placards all across the room. Apollo and company brushed past the other police officers and stood in the middle of the room, between two large beds. Behind them was the large television, and at the window were Chandler-Chavez's bags, being poured over by officers.

"This is Miss Chandler-Chavez's room, pal!" Gumshoe said cheerfully.

"We know that," Ema said impatiently. "Mr. Edgeworth! Have you guys found anything out?"

"We have discovered very little," Edgeworth said, glancing at the room. "Nothing decisive, if that's what you want."

Ema frowned and noticeably deflated. And since Apollo was pretty sure that she was on his side now, that wasn't good news for him. "Absolutely nothing to tie her to the murder?" Apollo said.

Edgeworth shook his head. "All we have are Orson and Fey's words," Edgeworth said, "and last I heard, the latter was being rushed to the hospital and the former is not exactly reliable."

"Wh-what?" Gumshoe said, "who went to the hospital?"

"Morgan Fey," Ema said, "she collapsed from blood loss. We were all so focused on the trial that we didn't think to treat her…"

"Yes," Edgeworth said, and he glared at Ema. "I will be sure to have a word with you and Iris in the future regarding this. No matter what you think of Fey, this is absolutely unacceptable."

Ema frowned and looked away from Edgeworth, clutching her bag. Apollo never'd seen her do something like this. "I-I understand, Mr. Edgeworth," she said sadly.

"What's done is done," Edgeworth said, and then he switched his impressive glare to Apollo. It sent shivers down his spine and made him feel bad too, even before Edgeworth said, "and I expect better from a student of Wright's, and Mr. Godot, as well. Be sure to tell him that."

"Uh, I don't think that Mr. Armando's going to be doing much more with me," Apollo said, and he nervously scratched his head and closed his eyes so that he couldn't see Edgeworth's glare (he could feel it, though). "I mean, Mr. Wright can take over tomorrow-"

"No," Edgeworth said, and Apollo opened his eyes to see that Edgeworth had stopped glaring, "Wright's decided to let Armando take over as co-counsel tomorrow as well." He crossed his arms and began tapping his left arm. "He says he needs to stay with Pearl right now."

Apollo nodded. She was probably terribly worried about what was happened. Ema glanced at her phone. "It's been ten minutes," she commented.

"There's nothing we can do, pal," Gumshoe said, "anyway, I guess you guys want to know anything that can be useful in court?"

"Anything at all," Apollo said, "I think we're almost there…"

"As I'm sure you'll find in court tomorrow, Chandler-Chavez supposedly has an alibi," Gumshoe said, "as the only other suspect-"

"The prosecution's going to continue in its accusation of Caroline for the murder of Gus Org," Edgeworth said. "However…"

"Fey?" Ema said, "she confirmed that there was something going on, and it seems that she really was trying to get pin the blame on Caroline…"

Edgeworth nodded. "Fey couldn't be the killer," Edgeworth said, "because as you noted in court, the first coffee pot was likely poured out, and the second poisoned coffee pot placed in time for Caroline to get the coffee. If that really is the case, then logically it had to be emptied in the afternoon, and yet according to the company's version of events Org had made that pot and then went to meet with Fey…"

So _that _was why Mrs. Wright didn't accuse her of being the killer. "Well, there is one thing that's bothering me, pal," Gumshoe said, "why today?"

"What?" Edgeworth said, glancing at Gumshoe. So did Ema and Apollo. Why what today? The trial? Surely the police wouldn't hire someone so incompetent-

"It's the order of everything, pal," Gumshoe said, "the train derailment was the fault of the terrorists, right, pal? So, then, what about the Kurain attacks?"

"You mean," Apollo said, "why did they wait until the second day of the trial to attack?"

"I see," Edgeworth said, "good point, detective. I may have to see to it that you get a pay raise. Put that way, it seems that they didn't have much to set this plan in motion."

"…almost as if it's blackmail," Ema said, "but with Fey in the hospital…"

"It's just blood loss," Apollo said, "surely that can't be too much of a problem?"

"Between the drugs, replacement fluids, and hospital environment, it will be impossible to get more information out of her at least tonight," Edgeworth said, "and I think it's likely that the men attacking Kurain are mercenaries. We'll get nothing out of them when they're arrested."

"In other words, we won't have leads?" Gumshoe said, looking forlorn.

"In any case," Apollo said, "what you're saying, Mr. Edgeworth, is that the entire plot to attack Kurain was… last-minute?"

"…yes," Edgeworth said, "I cannot prove it, of course, but that seems a highly likely option."

"So it went like this," Ema said. "Morgan Fey, via a coincidence, saw the murder take place. She then used that information to blackmail the real killer into setting up the sabotage of the train line that goes near Kurain village and to hire the guns to raze Kurain. But the set-up meant that it wasn't until the second day in court that the plan could really unfold."

"And it was only thanks to Mr. Armando that we even connected the train derailment to Mrs. Fey's machinations," Apollo said. Edgeworth and Ema nodded.

"Well that settles it, pal!" Gumshoe said, "Morgan knows who the real killer is! It's probably this Chandler-Chavez!"

"First, evidence," Edgeworth said, "there's no evidence to back that assertion yet. Second, did you forget the alibi?"

And then Edgeworth's phone rang.

Ema quickly checked her phone as Edgeworth took his phone out and stalked away. "Nineteen minutes," Ema said, obviously worried, "they'll be there any time…"

Apollo could almost imagine a crowd of people dressed like Pearl, riddled with bullet holes. He unwittingly clenched his hands. Of course they'd be safe, they'd _have _to be-

And then a cheering broke out from some of the police officers, and Edgeworth returned to the group with a semblance of a smile on his face. "The National Guard helicopter was able to cut off the trucks on the road to Kurain," he said, "the mercenaries are trapped between the police and a landslide now. With any luck, we'll find out exactly who hired them."

Everyone visibly relaxed, and even Apollo felt some of his tension flee. "Thank goodness!" Gumshoe said cheerfully, "this is even better than Maggey not being hurt by being lit on fire, pal!"

"Thank God…" Ema said, and she smiled. "Well, now it's time to catch the real killer, right?"

"Only if we can get around that alibi," Apollo said. "By the way. Ema. Did you find anything out from that 12-2 Report?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Ema said, "it's at the lab. Come with me."

She left the room, leaving Apollo to make one last glance at the room. While he'd learned something, it was only thanks to Edgeworth and Gumshoe… but it seemed there was nothing in here of any worth. "Go," Gumshoe said, "don't leave people waiting, pal!"

"Indeed," Edgeworth said, "I look forward to seeing you spar in court tomorrow, Mr. Justice."

Apollo nodded. In a way, he was flattered. And then he joined Ema in the elevator. She ate Snackoos on the way down and she even gave him one. "In honor of Kurain being saved," she said. Privately, Apollo wondered if Ema'd ever been there or what Kurain even _looked _like. Maybe it was one of those Japanese immigrant towns?

They drove to the police department much slower, with the only sound being Ema's Snackoos. And when they arrived at the precinct parking lot, Apollo's phone rang. Ema shrugged and walked to the stairs, leaving Apollo to take his call. "Apollo Justice," he said.

"Hey, Apollo!" Clay replied cheerfully. Apollo's mood lifted immediately, and he rushed towards the stairs. "Heard about the trial. Sounds brutal. Makes me glad I'm an astronaut!"

"What, with Fey and terrorists and everything?" Apollo said.

"Yep," Clay said, "at this rate, I'm going to outlast you, and I go into space for a living!"

"…but you haven't actually _been _to space, Clay," Apollo said.

Clay laughed. "We might just have something in planning," Clay replied, "Sol and I were talkin' about it recently. Anyway, it sounds like a lot of hard stuff. Your boss's wife as the prosecutor, your co-counsel's a convicted killer, you only barely stopped a massacre…"

"Tell me about it," Apollo said.

"Where were you last night, by the way?" Clay said, "I stopped by your apartment last night but you weren't there. It was weird, because your door was open…"

"Oh, well," Apollo said, meeting back up with Ema, "the train kinda derailed and I had to stay with a friend of mine- wait, what!? My door!?"

"Yeah," Clay said, "don't worry. Nothing was gone. I made sure to lock up and everything too."

Who had gone in his apartment? "Something wrong, Apollo?" Ema said.

"Who's that?" Clay said, "I can hear someone."

"That's just Ema," Apollo said, "friend of mine. Clay. Did you see anything else?"

"What do you mean?" Clay said, "like anything misplaced? Um, no, not that I can think of…"

But… who could've gone into his apartment? Chandler-Chavez and Orson were in the detention center, Morgan didn't seem like the kind to break into his apartment… and then his blood ran cold. Of course. Someone else _had _to be there… someone to sabotage the train. That was done last night, after all… "Clay," Apollo said tersely, "nothing else happened, right? You turned on the lights?"

"Of course," Clay said, "why wouldn't I? It was perfectly normal."

"Nothing happened?" Apollo said. Ema sighed and took out her Snackoos, munching happily on them. Behind her, the darkened lab seemed so much more menacing, with only a door and a large glass window to safeguard them…

"I told you, nothing!" Clay said, "it was fine! I'm completely fine, Apollo! Stop worrying!"

"Please think!" Apollo pleaded. The only logical thing…

"…well," Clay said, "I guess there was one thing I thought was weird. I could've sworn I heard a door creak. But it was okay. You know, strength in numbers?"

Huh?

"Sol was with me," Clay elaborated, "the two of us looked through everything, but we didn't find anything."

"Was there any point when you two looked away from the door?" Apollo said. Ema slowed down in eating, seemingly curious, her eyes on Apollo.

"Well, actually we did-" And something glinted in the darkness of the crime lab.

"EMA! DOWN!" Apollo shouted, dropping his phone and tackling Ema to the ground just as a gunshot rang out and shattered the glass.

"Apollo! What!?" Clay yelled from the phone, while Ema shoved Apollo off of her and pulled her gun out.

"Come out, come out, little defense attorney," someone said in the darkness.

Ema motioned for Apollo to stay low to the ground and she held her gun at her side expertly. "Apollo?" Clay said over the phone, "what happened? Was that a gunshot?"

Ema slid the phone over to in front of the door and then looked up. Then a man emerged out of the darkness: a black-haired college student holding a semiautomatic pistol with a maniac glint in his eyes. He brought his gun down towards Ema and Apollo… and then Ema fired. He gasped and recoiled into the darkness, but his gun was still with him.

Apollo scooted forward and grabbed his phone. "Clay," he hissed, "problem." And he hung up. Ema, however, didn't move.

"He still has that gun," she said, "he might shoot if we stand up. Get to the stairs, call backup!"

And then they both heard a gunshot. "Wh-what?" Apollo whispered and moved to stand up, but Ema shook her head.

"Go!" she hissed, "now, Apollo! I'm the cop here, not you!"

Apollo followed orders and slid over to the corner. He stood and glanced, for the briefest of moments at the crime lab… and then stopped. The assassin was dead, his head blown out, his gun lying on his chest. "He's dead," Apollo said hollowly. "Ema, he's dead. He killed himself."

Ema glanced up and then said, "go!"

But fortunately, other cops arrived at that moment. "What happened?" one of them said, "why the- who's that?"

"A gunman who attempted to assassinate us," Ema said, standing up and facing towards the lab, but not shouldering her gun. "Fan out!"

Five tense, terrifying minutes passed; Apollo's skin felt clammy and he strained to pick up every little sound. Were Ema and the other cops okay? Finally, she called, "all clear!"

The police were examining the body, but Ema was looking around the desks. "Dammit!" she said, "I can't find the report!"

Apollo looked at the dead body again. Black-haired, wearing an Ivy U jersey, with toned muscles and blood-covered features. Otherwise, he had no discerning features. A cop stuck her hand in his pocket and pulled out a wallet; "no ID," she said, and she put it in an evidence bag offered by the other cop.

"Send him to Kamosinko," Ema said, "once forensics arrive. Apollo! I've got bad news. It looks like our gunman burnt the report."

Apollo looked at him. "…you don't suppose this man killed Org?" Apollo said.

Ema shook her head. "We'll see, but I'm not sure," Ema said, "but based on what you were talking on the phone about-"

"He was trying to kill me," Apollo said. But why? Would what killing the defense attorney accomplish?

Had he seen something? What had he seen that the police hadn't?

"Exactly," Ema said. "Apollo. I doubt that train was derailed by just one man. You're in danger tonight. I'll send the word to everyone else working on the Org case." She looked down at the body as well. "I'll see if we were able to get the record in the computer, assuming he didn't delete it too."

"Yeah…" Apollo said.

_What _was going on?

* * *

_January 13, 7:58 PM, Clay Terran's Apartment_

The police had been mobilized and already the news was leaking across the city as a manhunt started for any more train saboteurs. It was apparently big news: a terrorist attack on a train, attempted assassination of the lawyer for the defense, a gunman in the police department, Mexican mercenaries, and an attack on a remote village to kill one person, narrowly stopped by a quick-thinking National Guard helicopter.

"All they need is the President and a love story and they're set," Clay said that night, leaning back in his chair. Apollo was staying the night at Clay's apartment, with police protection down below, of course, since cops were busy going through Apollo's apartment to see if any other traps had been set. As such, Ema dropped him off and got a suit for him, and then left to assist in the manhunt; Apollo and Clay ate in the apartment together and talked about the Space Center. And then the discussion moved to the day's events, and quite frankly Apollo wasn't sure he wanted to hear more.

"Yeah, well, as long as I'm not wrapped up in it I don't care," Apollo said. Although to be honest it wouldn't be surprised if President Fortuño became involved too. And he did _not _want the media to find out that Ema had been helping him, or that he'd stayed at her apartment last night: he could only imagine the field day they would have with that.

"It's got to be nice to have the public on your side, for once," Clay said. "Usually there's all sorts of crazy accusations and assertions going on on the news, but now everyone's flocking around you and Caroline."

"They shouldn't," Apollo said darkly, "she's not innocent either."

"That's what the early reports said," Clay said, "something about planning an attack?"

"Sort of," Apollo said. He leaned back into the couch. "To think that this morning I was worried that my co-counsel would be switched with a criminal and my client was a murderer. Now…"

"It's too much at once, dude," Clay said. "Sol, the director, and I were going out to dinner when we heard the news. Director Cosmos practically wanted to ride out on his scooter to go help take down those gunmen! And I've got to say that I'm sorry for not figuring out about the guy waiting in your apartment…"

"Don't worry about it," Apollo said, "I don't want you to die an early death, especially not for my sake."

Clay smiled and leaned back some more, causing the chair to topple over and sending the astronaut to the floor. The two laughed about it, and then Clay stood up. "Still, good thing Sol was there," Clay said, "and I heard that the killer shot himself? Maybe he was the one who killed that Org dude?"

"No," Apollo said, "I'd bet my badge that Mrs. Wright's going to find a way out of that. It was really only luck that we were able to find out what Morgan Fey was hiding."

Clay nodded. "That Diego Armando guy, right?" Clay said, "I've heard rumors about him. The coffee-guzzling fiend of the courtroom, who only ever lost against one man, and his downfall was part of the slide downwards…"

"That dark age of the law stuff everyone keeps mentioning?" Apollo said, "can't say Mr. Wright or Mr. Gavin even mentioned it much…"

"I'm surprised you don't know," Clay said, sitting back down and not leaning back this time. "You know, von Karma, and then Godot two years later, and then Wright shortly after that, and Blackquill the year after… sorta the straw that broke the camel's back, you know? Aura Blackquill complains about it a lot…"

"I can imagine," Apollo said. He'd heard some of the rumors about the Blackquill case, and the controversy surrounding it: public opinion was just as divided there as it had been on Wright. Some claimed that the death sentence was too harsh, or that there was no motive, or all other manner of accusations; others said that the death sentence was the _least _he deserved, or that it just showed the corruption in the system that prosecuting caused.

Basically, it was a mess. "I dug some more into Armando, and you wouldn't believe the kind of stuff going on back when he was first arrested," Clay said, "it was a huge shock. Apparently they heard about the Hazakura incident all the way out in Washington and Atlanta and New York, and there was some sort of huge public debate."

"I didn't pay much attention, to be honest," Apollo said, "you know, I only focused on that kinda stuff after Mr. Wright was disbarred…"

"Yeah, I know," Clay said, "no need to tell me, dude. Anyway, here's the thing: Armando killed this girl's mother and she defended him in court, because the mother was trying to kill her or something, and this was all proven in court. And then the news came that the prosecution was seeking the death penalty or at least life in prison and that Armando was getting weaker every day and it got _really _controversial…"

"Divided public opinion?" Apollo said. Clay nodded.

"Fortunately, he pulled through and ended up only being sent in for a 10-year sentence," Clay said. "But I remember the teachers arguing about it at school. I'm surprised you don't remember."

"…that was _years _ago, Clay, and all I cared about was Mr. Wright, not his prosecutors," Apollo said. Sometimes he couldn't believe his friend. "I told you about Prosecutor Gavin, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Clay said, rubbing the back of his head. "So… how was being shot at?"

"Loads of fun," Apollo said, "it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Although it was a good thing that you called when you did, because you telling me about the apartment meant that I was looking into the crime lab."

Clay nodded. "Sure thing," he said, "this world's crazy, and we need to look out for each other. Although, how'd you get the guy to shoot himself?" He stopped and then laughed nervously. "I don't want to be insensitive, but…"

Apollo nodded. Clay had a way of having to stick his foot in his mouth sometimes. "I think he shot himself because he was outclassed," Apollo said, "he's just some college student with a gun, going up against a cop."

Clay nodded. "Ema, right?" he said, "she's a cop you know, right?"

"Yeah," Apollo said, "she usually works for Klavier Gavin, but she's helping me on this case. I kinda stayed the night at her apartment last night after the derailment last night, so-"

Clay smiled broadly and Apollo realized what he'd just said. Whoops. He could feel himself start to blush as Clay said, "looks like someone's got a girlfriend," he said, "is it official or anything?"

Clay's lack of experience was showing. Then again, it wasn't like Apollo had any experience either. "I'm _pretty sure _that stuff isn't made 'official' or anything," Apollo said, "I crashed on her couch. That's it."

"Oh, sure," Clay said, "you don't need to lie to me, Apollo."

"Do I really look like I'm lying?"

"You're sweating."

"So? Ema and I are just friends. And it's not like saving someone from being killed makes you lovers or anything," Apollo said quickly, "we barely even spoke after the assassin tried to kill me!"

Clay chuckled. "You're fun to tease," he said, "look. I don't know much, but she's a cop, right? She needs to be strong for the common man. Still, you should go thank her for stopping the gunner tomorrow."

Apollo nodded. "Clay," he said, "I need to go to sleep now."

Clay nodded and left the room. "Good night, Apollo!" Clay called, "and c'mon- you'll be fine tomorrow!"

"Same to you!" Apollo called back. Clay's bedroom door shut and Apollo switched the light off.

* * *

**A/N: A short chapter for now. Why? Because the last day of trial will take absolutely forever. However, if all goes well this story will be done by Saturday, April 19, 2014 for reasons known only to myself (this is almost done being written, by the way. My update schedule is just awful). **

**Anyway, I hope I was able to communicate Apollo's tension and fear with what's going on. Basically, the plot has thickened severely. And what does Mrs. Wright have up her sleeve?**


	7. Trial, Day 3, Part I

_January 14, 9:30 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

Today Armando, Mr. Wright, and Pearl greeted Apollo in the lobby, alongside the usual police and Caroline. Armando was still dressed like a prisoner, with bandages wrapped around his right hand and a steaming cup in his left hand. Pearl looked miserable, and Mr. Wright looked exhausted. They all glanced at Apollo and then glanced away. Pearl and Mr. Wright seemed rather tense.

"Yesterday was a mess," Caroline commented, breaking the silence. "I knew there was something with Fey." She flipped through her planner. "Hiring mercenaries is against company policy… she's facing severance from the company now too."

"So are you," Armando said, "you deserve it. Trying to get a man to kill his own son…"

"The ends," Caroline said, closing her planner with a _snap_, "justify the means. Is that not the philosophy of men like you?"

Armando smirked. "I didn't know that report was forged, any more then Wright knew that paper was forged," he said, and his smile vanished, "and believe me. I didn't gain anything out of having Org sent to prison on false charges."

"It took me years of digging to find out Org's connection to William's murder," Caroline said, "and when I found out he couldn't be prosecuted for it, I… I was so _angry_… and then I realized that all I had to do was make sure that that hateful man would dig his own grave."

"I see," Mr. Wright said. "Did you know _anything _about Morgan's plan?"

"I knew nothing, Mr. Wright," Caroline said, "I also know nothing about all the various news spreading through the detention center. A gunman at the police department, a train derailment, Mexican mercenaries. The world's gone insane."

"I can't believe my mother tried to kill Mystic Maya again," Pearl said quietly, "Mr. Nick, why won't she stop? When will she realize that I don't want to be the master?"

"It's not about you," Armando said, "Dahlia's right. It's just about her own power. But…"

"At least she told us everything once she was confronted," Mr. Wright said. "If she'd stayed silent, there's no telling what might've happened. Although… I'm not sure why she would do that."

"Mr. Edgeworth said that they won't be able to get anything out of Fey," Apollo said, "she's out cold in the hospital."

Mr. Wright nodded. "And like everyone else, she's under police guard," he said, "Iris thinks that she might become a target too."

"Everyone connected to the case," Armando said, "there were more patrols than usual at prison last night."

"A police guard was placed at our house," Mr. Wright said, "and to be honest, I'm not feeling very comfortable with being here right now. Pearls wanted to be here, though… Armando. Are you still up to-"

"I'm fine," Armando said, "you just help Pearl right now, Wright."

Mr. Wright nodded, and Pearl said, "sorry, but…" She seemed to be tearing up.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, "we'll catch the real killer today, I know it."

Mr. Wright nodded. "Our backs might go up against the wall, but we'll keep fighting," he said, "although right now, your case is looking pretty good."

"Ha. Typical arrogance that I'd expect from you, Wright," Armando said, shaking his head. "Red. Didn't you hear me when we first met? 'Never assume that because something is simple, that it's the truth'."

"Wait," Apollo said, "you're not suggesting that Chandler-Chavez isn't the killer either?"

"It's too early to say," Armando said, "but if you assume that she is going into this last day…" He didn't elaborate and only sipped his coffee.

Mr. Wright nodded. "The problem you'll have here, Apollo, is that alibi. If you can't disprove it, then someone else was behind this murder: but the question is, who was it, and why?"

Apollo nodded. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

_January 14, 10:00 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #4_

Today, there was far more police protection than normal, and even a few medical professionals waiting by the bailiffs. Mrs. Wright looked rather nervous, as did the Judge; Apollo took deep breaths to prepare for court and Armando just drank his coffee. "C-court is now in session for the trial of Bertha Caroline," the Judge said, "and I trust that there will be absolutely _no _attacks on the court while it's in session?"

"There is a heavy police presence, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "a terrorist attack on this court is as unlikely as the so-called dark age of the law ending this year."

"Of course," the Judge said, "it seems to still be haunting us… now, does the prosecution or the defense have anything new to report?"

"Last night, a gunman attacked myself and Detective Skye," Apollo said, "before killing himself. In the aftermath, it was found that the gunman also wiped crime lab computers and destroyed a piece of evidence related to the crime."

The Judge nodded. "Between the attempted assassination and the destruction of this evidence, it seems that someone wants to sabotage this investigation," he said, "and the attempt on Mr. Justice himself seems quite odd… almost as if the true culprits want Ms. Caroline found guilty."

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright said, "your Honor. While we cannot explain why the gunman was attempting to kill Mr. Justice, the only one with the opportunity remains to be the defendant, for reasons that the court will explain when we call Miss Chandler-Chavez to the stand. However, first the prosecution wishes to call a witness from yesterday."

Dr. Kamosinko took the stand, still dressed in his medical scrubs and running his hand through his beard. "Name and occupation again, please," Mrs. Wright said.

"Dr. Ivan Kamosinko, coroner and oil company founder," Kamosinko said.

"Dr. Kamosinko. Can you please explain to the court the findings of the autopsy and investigation of the gunman?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Hold it!" Apollo said, "Mrs. Wright. Why is Dr. Kamosinko giving that report?"

"All personnel are needed for the manhunt and security needs," Mrs. Wright said, "even Mr. Armando's guards should have left to provide extra security in the lobby. Dr. Kamosinko has already been informed of the facts by the police and will be delivering the information along with his autopsy result. Now, please continue, doctor."

"Da," Kamosinko said, "deceased is Fredrick Bennet Ingram, student at Ivy University in sociology department, women's studies. Arrested last November in Mexico for fire-bombing attack. Cause of death was gunshot, bullet fired into skull by placing gun in mouth. Confirmed by saliva on firearm and burn marks in mouth. Further, second bullet."

"A second bullet!?" the Judge said, "was there another shooter?"

"Nyet. Bullet entered body shortly before death. Entry at shoulder, lodged there. Fired by Detective Ema Skye as self-defense when she and Mr. Justice were attacked by Ingam."

The Judge nodded. "I see," he said, "it's always admirable when someone defends themselves from a crazed attacker."

_I'm glad you think so_, Apollo thought. _Although I haven't seen Ema. I wonder how she took it?_

And then Kamosinko shook his head, disrupting Apollo's thoughts. "As far as I can tell, no mental issues," Kamosinko said. "Toxicology report not yet in, though, but security recordings found of him. At time of death of Gus Org, he was working at job in grocery store. Did not leave post, definitely there. Further, last night seen taking call and entering train station before leaving. Believed to be one of two saboteurs."

Two? "Hold it," Apollo said, "Dr. Kamosinko. _Two _saboteurs? No more? No less?"

"In going over security footage again, two people were seen entering the maintenance areas for the train," Mrs. Wright said. "One of them was Mr. Ingram. The second person, a woman, has been identified as Caitlin Adams, who worked as a train repairwoman and was also arrested in November. For the moment, she has evaded capture."

The Judge nodded. "I see," he said, "however, this is not a trial of Mr. Ingram or Ms. Adams. This is a trial for Ms. Bertha Caroline for the death of Gus Org."

"I understand, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "however, we wanted to address something: the no-doubt forthcoming claim from the defense that this was an attempt to have Caroline found guilty. Dr. Kamosinko, the results of your investigation?"

"Da." Kamosinko finished stroking his beard and stood tall (very tall) to address the court. "It is believed by police that target was both lawyers."

"How?" the Judge said, "no one attacked Mrs. Wright."

"Of course not," Kamosinko replied, "by point that anyone would be in position to attack her, she was under police guard with Pearl Fey, only person who would be off-limits. It seems that failed attempt on Mr. Justice's life might've saved Mrs. Wright as well."

"And why wouldn't this be tied to Org's death? We've already proven that Fey was likely trying to implicate Caroline," Apollo said.

Kamosinko nodded. "That is question for witness," Kamosinko said, "I only report on investigation. And it is thus: Orson had no phone on him, even in X-rays. Mercenaries say they were hired by Morgan Fey. Ergo, Fey trying to throw Caroline and Orson under bus."

_Wh-WHAT!? _"You've got to be kidding me!" Apollo said.

"Nyet."

"Well, that seems like a perfectly reasonable theory. It's more than possible," the Judge said. "Very well. Dr. Kamosinko, you may-"

"Hold it!" Armando summoned a cup of coffee with his left hand, smirked and took a sip, and then said, "you haven't told us everything yet, Dr. Kamosinko. You really should."

"Chto?" Kamosinko said, "about what? I have told everything."

Armando shook his head. "C'mon, Red, Iris, don't let this man hoodwink you," Armando said, "you know what I'm talking about, right?" He smiled, and added, "quite frankly, I think he's lying."

"W-what?" Mrs. Wright said, "Mr. Armando, this came from the police department."

"And?" Armando said, "he's not a cop, is he?"

Apollo wondered what Armando was referring to. What could Kamosinko be lying about…? And then he remembered something from yesterday, something that he knew was the reversal he needed. "Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, slamming his hands on his desk, "yesterday Morgan Fey said that it was the organization Blue Earth behind the train derailment. Are you suggesting that Blue Earth was entirely unconnected?"

"Blue Earth was disbanded after Great Banks Dam bombing," Kamosinko said. "Leaders arrested by CIA. Phillips slipped out and killed, Org slipped out of prison after silencing him. What more to know?"

"That may be the case, Dr. Kamosinko, but I'd like to remind the court about something else," Apollo said, reading from the court record, "and I quote: 'how you say, gag order from CIA, Org still useful.'" He put the paper away and slammed his hands on the desk. "Dr. Kamosinko!" he shouted, pointing at him, "the defense demands to know why Org was still useful!"

Kamosinko visibly broke into a sweat and grabbed at his scalpel-bag on his belt. "D-do I look like CIA?" Kamosinko said.

Mrs. Wright slammed her hand on the table. "Answer the question, doctor," she said, "too many people have been put in danger by this case."

"Do I look like spy?" Kamosinko said, "do I look like I'm someone who'd know so much about Org?"

"Honestly, yes," Apollo said, "you have the money and the connections. You clearly had a vendetta against him. You already tried to place him in prison once, and you clearly knew a great deal about the death of Marvin Org."

"Further," Armando said, "the fact that you were under a gag order in the first place is suspicious. He was already cleared of what happened in 2018- why would the CIA wait eight years and then suddenly decide you could tell anyone about Org?"

"But how would Org still be useful?" the Judge said, "this is all too vague, Mr. Justice, Mr. Armando, Mrs. Wright."

Kamosinko resumed stroking his beard. "Da," he said, "I'm afraid that I do not know much. You understand."

Mrs. Wright glared at him but she seemed powerless. Armando had his hand to his face, his visor smoking. And Apollo didn't know what to do either: if Kamosinko knew something, it would be impossible to get it out of him. It seemed he would be allowed to move on, but if Kamosinko was allowed to have his testimony stand, then the Judge might side with the police theory regarding the assassins and _everything _would fall apart. And the real killer would go free.

"Well," the Judge said, "without any way to tie Dr. Kamosinko to the current event, I'm afraid there's nothing else we can have him testify about. Mrs. Wright, please bring your next witness-"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix Wright yelled.

The crowd exploded into conversation as Mr. Wright stood up in the gallery. "M-Mr. Wright!" the Judge said, "what is the meaning of this!? You're not working in the defense!"

"Y-your Honor!" Mr. Wright said.

"Please listen!" Apollo said. He had to've seen something he and Armando had missed, but what could it be!?

The Judge shook his head. "You've changed co-counsels. Should there be another objection, Mr. Wright, then I'll have you removed-"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted forcefully, pointing at the Judge himself, who jumped in his seat. "Mr. Wright is my co-counsel," Mrs. Wright said, slamming her hand on the desk. "Your Honor, for personal reasons he had to stay in the gallery. I ask that the court listen to his request."

What? What was she _doing_? Was she… saving them? "I- very well," the Judge said, "but Mr. Wright! I'm afraid you'll have to join the prosecution at the desk!"

Mr. Wright nodded. He turned and said something to Pearl, who nodded, and then he walked out of the courtroom and, a little later, joined Mrs. Wright at the prosecution stand. "You had problem?" Kamosinko said, stroking his beard.

"I do indeed, Dr. Kamosinko," Mr. Wright said. He put his hands on his hips and smiled. "I seem to recall two days ago that your autopsy report included a set of scars on the body of Mr. Org. The prosecution requests that you testify regarding this."

"That has no relevance," replied Kamosinko easily, "Mrs. Wright. I am disappointed in shielding husband."

"…no, Dr. Kamosinko," Mrs. Wright said, "I'm disappointed in your lying. I will say this again: the prosecution demands that you testify regarding those scars."

"And what would that accomplish?" Kamosinko said, "they are not important. They are not related to death."

"But they might be related to Blue Earth," Apollo said, "and as Mrs. Fey testified, Blue Earth is _highly _important to this case."

"I'm afraid that I still don't see how, Mr. Justice," the Judge said, "anything beyond a motive, I don't understand. Enlighten me."

"Of course, your Honor," Apollo said. "The connection itself is very simple, and thanks to Mr. Edgeworth last night, the defense has a theory that explains the biggest contradiction of this case."

"The biggest… contradiction?" the Judge said, "what?"

"The train," Armando said, "the timing of the train. You don't let your coffee finish brewing when you're gone to work, and yet Fey did."

"Almost as if the attack on Kurain was never part of the plan," Apollo said, "the defense believes that Morgan Fey witnessed the true killer and blackmailed them to enact her plan. That's why the train wasn't derailed until the day after the murder, and why the mercenaries only arrived near Kurain near last night even though a more logical chain of events would be starting at the same time as the murder, allowing split police resources."

"And what have to do with scar?" Kamosinko said, "all that is is conjecture about how murder happened."

"That would be the case, Dr. Kamosinko," Mr. Wright said, "except for one crucial thing: Morgan Fey used Blue Earth to attack Kurain village, and at the time of the dam bombing, Fey was in prison."

"And?"

"Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, "the fact that Fey was able to use Blue Earth shows that the real killer had a connection to Blue Earth itself. Furthermore, the fact that Gus Org was killed, purposefully, proves that someone wanted him dead. If the blackmail theory is correct, and I believe it's a strong possibility, then that means that the true killer was connected to Blue Earth."

"And what does that have to do with scar!?" Kamosinko said.

"Uh…" Apollo said, "it's, uh, something to do with Blue Earth?"

"That is ridiculous. Do you have any proof that it is?" Kamosinko said.

"Actually," Mr. Wright said, "yes."

The court was silent; even Mrs. Wright glanced at him. Was he bluffing?

"What's he doing?" Armando said.

"I would like the court to remember one thing," Mr. Wright said, "that Dr. Kamosinko has never told us something very important: how, exactly, he learned about the role of Gus Org. The prosecution believes that this is because _Org had a scar in the shape of Blue Earth's insignia_!"

The entire courtroom was silent. "…Feenie," Mrs. Wright said, "I love you to death, but… are you feeling alright?"

"Never better," Mr. Wright said confidently.

"You are being ridiculous. All I have to do is show scars," Kamosinko said, and then he stopped and noticeably tensed.

"He's hiding something," Apollo said, and he crossed his arms. "Well, then, Dr. Kamosinko. Please show us those scars."

"This is ridiculous!" Kamosinko said.

"Well, without that picture we can't really say that, can we?" Armando said, smirking. "C'mon, doctor. If you want to show us that the bear in the box isn't a bear, then you open that box."

"I… I…" Kamosinko said, sweating, "I…"

"I'll send in the request immediately," Mrs. Wright said, "because I think it's more than clear to this court that you're attempting to hide something."

The courtroom filled with chatter and, about five minutes later, a bailiff delivered a photograph to first the prosecution and to the defense. It was a picture of the scars, alright, and they weren't any discernible logo. They were just a set of thin lines in a vaguely circular shape… so why was Kamosinko so worried?

A final copy was delivered to the judge. "This… Mr. Wright. Were you bluffing?" the Judge said.

"Well, you could say that," Mr. Wright said, "although, your Honor, I thought it was the job of the defense to point out the problems with our argument, not yours."

"I- well, Mr. Justice?" the Judge said.

_ Wow. That was almost sad_, Apollo thought. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "this is obviously not what Mr. Wright claimed. However… Dr. Kamosinko was clearly still afraid of them being shown. He knows something."

"I see," the Judge said, "and yes. Dr. Kamosinko's sweating can be seen from here. Dr. Kamosinko: please testify regarding how the victim gained these scars and how you learned about who he was."

"I- of course," Kamosinko said, "well. It all happened eight years ago, after Waxman was sent to prison. I had chance meeting with Org, and I discovered that he was other backer. Then I hit him over head with bottle. He was knocked out, but I did not realize. So I took shattered bottle and stabbed him."

"I see," the Judge said, "and it explains those scars. Mr. Justice, your cross-examination?"

"Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, pushing his finger into his temple, "this seems entirely contrived."

"Da, it was," Kamosinko said, "chance meeting. But chance meetings do happen. I seem to recall Vera Misham trial, how one small thing resulted in trial seven years later!"

"Well put. If I hadn't missed my train once many years ago, I never would've met my wife!" the Judge said. "Please continue."

"But yes, I met at bar. And then I hit him over head with bottle," Kamosinko said.

"Hold it!" Apollo said, "that was not in the autopsy report!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "Mr. Justice. Do you think that skulls don't heal?"

"The signs of fracture are there, if that is what you are asking," Kamosinko said. "But scars do not heal. Caused, what you say, memory damage and he did not report."

"I see," Apollo said. Well, one last thing to go after…

"A weak lie," Armando commented, "but sometimes the smallest ant on a mound reveals an enormous colony."

"Uh… thanks," Apollo said. "Dr. Kamosinko. You said that the scars are from a bottle wound?"

"Da."

"Then I'd like to turn the court's attention to this," Apollo said, and he took out the picture of the scars. "Specifically, the width of the wounds. While it's true that the wound is circular, the weapon in that case would still be jagged, irregular glass that would not have a vaguely polygonal shape." He slammed his hands on the table and said, "Dr. Kamosinko! You are not telling the truth!"

Kamosinko glowered at Apollo and whipped a vodka bottle out of his hat. Then he guzzled it and smashed it on the witness stand. "See this!" Kamosinko said, holding up the bottle, "bottle like this! Bottle like smashed vodka bottle!"

"And if that were the case, then that wound would not resemble this wound," Apollo said. "For a coroner, you have very little understanding of wounds… or you're hiding something."

"I! You are being ridiculous!" Kamosinko sputtered, and he began shivering. Apollo had only seen him twice, but that did not seem normal… and Mrs. Wright was now looking at him with concern, as were the paramedics.

"Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, "please. Tell us the truth. What really happened?"

"I… I am not lying," Kamosinko blubbered. Apollo's bracelet tightened to the point that it began hurting his skin: Kamosinko was far _too _tense.

"Th-that's not good," Mr. Wright said just loud enough to go over the crowd, and he turned and said something to Mrs. Wright.

The Judge silenced the crowd. "Dr. Kamosinko!" he said, "do you need medical attention?"

"No, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "I suspect that what he needs to do is just tell the truth and stop hiding the true nature of his relationship with Org."

"I am not hiding anything!" Kamosinko wailed, "nothing!" But he kept shivering, and one hand grabbed his scalpel bag on the side and began touching the zipper.

Time to perceive. "Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, "up until now you've been mostly in good health. However, how you're acting now is highly suspicious."

"He's just shivering," Armando said.

"That's not it," Apollo said, "he's grabbing onto that bag of scalpels, almost as if he wants us to know the true implement used to make those scars: a scalpel, not a bottle."

The crowd's discourse rose and Dr. Kamosinko howled and ripped the scalpel bag off of his belt. He slung it over the witness stand, pulled his hat off, and yanked out five vodka bottles from nowhere that he quickly guzzled. Then he staggered backwards, swung at a bailiff who tried to detain him and missed, and collapsed.

"Oh… oh dear," Mrs. Wright said, "your Honor, the prosecution requests-"

"Granted!" the Judge said, "court will resume when Dr. Kamosinko is able to testify again!"

* * *

_January 14, 11:04 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

Armando was sitting down and Apollo was pacingwhen a pleasant surprise occurred: "I got it," Ema said, entering the lobby, "I got your report."

She looked completely exhausted. There were deep bags under her eyes, her clothes and hair were disheveled, and not a Snackoo bag was in sight. In one hand she held a manilla envelope while in the other she held her bag strap. Her glasses weren't even on her head; instead, they were poking out of the bag.

"Thanks, Ema," Apollo said, taking the envelope and setting it down on a nearby table. "Have you… been working all night?"

"You need to fill out paperwork if you fire you gun, much less shoot someone," Ema said, "and then I had to go help find that missing saboteur and search Orson's cell for that phone and provide security and I haven't so much as had a cup of coffee or a Snackoo or bed or a shower in the last 24 hours and at this rate it's gonna be longer than that…"

She yawned widely and tried to turn, but instead she staggered forward and into Apollo. "Uh, Ema," Apollo said, pushing her back on her feet and trying his best not to be embarrassed, "how about you go get some coffee-"

"I would, but I need to go work," she said, and she wearily stepped towards the door. "Need to find… Orson's phone…"

"Catch her," Armando said, "I'll get some coffee."

Apollo glanced at Armando and then back at Ema and had to rush forward to stop her from running into the door. "Ema, you need sleep," Apollo said, "don't they have shifts?"

"I'm not on shift now," she said, "but I need to help- need to help-" she was cut off by yawning loudly and she collapsed against Apollo for a second time. "Don't move. Need sleep."

"I get that," Apollo said quickly, "I really do-"

Armando arrived with a second cup of coffee and gave it to Ema. Then he lead her over to the couch and left to lean against the wall, sipping his own coffee, while Apollo sat next to Ema.

"You were right about Chandler-Chavez," Ema said wearily, "that report shows that she was gonna meet with Org." She leaned against Apollo and added, "you're welcome for me saving your life last night."

"You're welcome that I saved yours," Apollo replied. Ema took a brief sip of coffee, but it didn't seem to be helping; Apollo took the cup away when it began tipping dangerously and placed it on the end table, and then tried to straighten Ema up. "Ema, let me go talk to Mrs. Wright. You need sleep."

"I want to help," Ema said, "it's my job to serve and protect… and I made the wrong arrest and couldn't find Orson's phone… I'm a failure, like I always am. A woman of science… ha…"

Armando walked over. "You're not a failure unless you let your mistakes control you," he said, "that's one of my rules, and it's one I ignored. And look at where it got me." He gestured at his prison garb and then said, "Justice. I'm going with a guard to go talk to the Wrights. Skye, as of now you're off-duty. Get some sleep."

Armando and a guard left, leaving Apollo, Ema, a quiet Caroline, and the lone guard by the door stoically looking ahead. "Ema," Apollo said quietly, "please."

"No… my shift starts in six hours. I need to be ready," Ema said, "ready to find- to find-" And she yawned again.

"Ema," Apollo said tersely, "you can't do anything if you don't sleep. Got it?"

"I… yes," Ema said. "I'm sorry… I searched that cell all by myself and I stayed up all night trying to retrieve that report. I didn't want to let you down, like I let myself down... We're not that different, you know."

What? "Ema, you're a cop. I'm a lawyer," Apollo said. Ema scooted down and laid down on the couch, resting her head on Apollo's leg. "And, uh, please don't-"

"No," Ema said, closing her eyes, "just… leave gently, please."

"But what does that have to do with-"

"We're both orphans, right? Maybe you didn't have a sister to raise you, but I was by myself after Lana went to jail. And everything else went wrong too. Our idols fell and the people we worked for weren't the ones we imagined. But maybe that shows how different we are too: I failed to become what I wanted and I became bitter. You got exactly what you wanted, and look at you."

The exhaustion had clearly gone to her head. "Ema," Apollo said, "please. Go to sleep."

Ema sighed and nodded slightly. Apollo waited for her to clearly be asleep- her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling rhythmically, her body turning to the side and curling slightly, with her head still on Apollo- and he edged away to look at the report she'd slaved away for.

On the paper was just one note: _$500,000 Chandler-Chavez Bell. Friday._

* * *

_January 14, 11:43 AM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #4_

Kamosinko was back on the stand, but instead of looking miserable and weak like Apollo expected after all the vodka he'd drunk, he instead was standing tall, proud, and looking off glassy-eyed towards the Judge. Mr. Wright was still with Mrs. Wright and Armando still had his coffee. "The police already sent that report to Iris as well," Armando said, "expect her to try and explain it away."

Apollo nodded; that was exactly what prosecutors had to do. What did Chandler-Chavez do that meant that Mrs. Wright wouldn't suspect her? And was he looking at this all wrong, was Mrs. Wright right and Chandler-Chavez not the murderer? Armando's words returned to Apollo: 'Never assume that because something is simple, that it's the truth'. Was that what he meant?

"I assume Dr. Kamosinko's ready to testify again?" the Judge said, and he added, glowering, "_without _any lies this time?"

"Dr. Kamosinko claims that he's ready to tell the truth," Mrs. Wright said. "Isn't that right, doctor? Doctor?"

"Huh!?" Kamosinko said, and then he blinked and looked around the room. "Wait, I am not ready…" Kamosinko said, and he slumped. He was looking more and more pathetic, really. His speech was annoying, but now he seemed like a pushover…

And then Kamosinko roared and the scrubs tore, revealing a large black coat underneath. His eyes seemed to temporarily light on fire and his hat quickly flared up, making him resemble a torch… and yet he seemed entirely unconcerned, punching his hand with his fist and grinning openly at the court. Then, pulling twin scalpels out of his belt, he twirled them and threw them, one at Apollo's desk and the other at Mrs. Wright's, before pulling out two more scalpels. "I am… ALIVE!" Kamosinko roared, and the Judge hid under the stand.

Mrs. Wright leaned over and pulled the scalpel out, then handed it to Mr. Wright. "Dr. Kamosinko, please do not attack anyone," Mrs. Wright said, "you're in enough trouble as it is. To add assault or murder to that would be a very poor choice."

"XA HA HA HA HA!" Kamosinko smirked brilliantly at Mrs. Wright and said, "after what I reveal to you, murder will be the least of your concerns!"

"He's like a madman!" Mr. Wright whimpered loudly, and then Kamosinko threw another scalpel at him. He yelped and hid.

"And please do not attack my husband!" Mrs. Wright said, sounding somewhat startled, shifting towards Mr. Wright and pulling him up, "he didn't do anything to you!"

"I will attack who I please. It doesn't matter any more," Kamosinko said.

"I think he's drunk," Armando said. Then he took a sip of coffee.

"I… I hope that won't stop the truth," Apollo said, and he cautiously leaned over and glanced at the scalpel embedded in the front of his desk. Hopefully this wouldn't become a repeat performance…

"Today's court will be administered behind a safe, wooden shield!" the Judge yelled, no longer in sight, "and I expect security to stop any attacks! Now, Dr. Kamosinko, please testify about that scar!"

"It is very simple," Kamosinko said, scratching his still-burning hat, "you see… _I _left scars. I admit it! It was me!" He twirled a scalpel and said, "it all happened eight years ago. Great Banks Dam burst. 113 people died and Waxman arrested. However, I wanted to know who else was backer. I knew only one other: Gus Org. So I found him and whacked over head with bottle when not looking. I dragged him home to mansion and cut him with scalpel until he told me about Phillips! That is truth!"

The court broke into a murmur that the Judge quickly dismissed. "Cross-examination!" he yelled out.

"Actually, before we start, I want to know something," Mrs. Wright said. _Oh boy… _"Dr. Kamosinko. You claim that _you _were the one who left those scars?"

"Da, that is what I am claiming!" growled Kamosinko, and he threw a scalpel at Mrs. Wright that embedded itself in the wall right next to her. The police and bailiff rushed forward, but they stopped when Mrs. Wright held a hand up.

"Dr. Kamosinko," Mrs. Wright said, "if your 'truth' is really the truth, then why did Org try and kill Phillips instead of you? After all, you would've known about the backers as well, and you were a known threat."

"Da," Kamosinko said, "criminal minds are strange. You know that. That is like your sister. Can you explain her crimes?"

"Dahlia has nothing to do with this," Mrs. Wright said, and she glared at Kamosinko. "I was just confirming what you were saying."

"Hmph."

"Careful, Red," Armando said, "she's trying to get you to tear this farce apart yourself so that she can get rid of him and move on to Chandler-Chavez."

"Don't worry," Apollo said, "I won't let him leave until we have only the absolute truth." And the cross examination began. "Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, "this is, quite possibly, one of the most contradictory testimonies I've ever heard."

"Da?" Kamosinko said, and he held a scalpel up. "Please explain, Apollo Foolovich!"

"He's insulting your father," Armando said.

"Yeah, I get that," Apollo said, safely from the floor. "Ahem! I hope the court can hear me, but I've decided to copy the wise life decisions of his Honor! …anyway, Dr. Kamosinko, let me begin by saying that Mrs. Wright is completely correct about Org's motive. There's no way that you tortured him and found out about the information and that he didn't kill you instead of Phillips."

"How do you know that!? Are you Org!?" Kamosinko demanded. There was a _whoosh_ing sound and a scalpel slammed into the wall above Apollo, where it quivered for a second.

"No," Apollo said, "I'm not the victim! But even excluding that, there's another glaring problem with this testimony: this still doesn't explain how you knew about Gus Org being one of the Blue Earth funders!"

"Are you claiming that torture did not happen!?" Kamosinko demanded.

"Of course not," Armando said, "and Red, get up. You look pathetic."

Apollo shakily returned to his feet. "I, uh, lost my pen," Apollo said. "Anyway, the torture obviously happened. However, it's unlikely that you were the torturer, or Org would've tried to kill you. Who did torture him had to have been untouchable… or would already be dead."

"Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said, "do you have any evidence to substantiate that claim?"

"Uh… no, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said. It was all conjecture now anyways. "However… Dr. Kamosinko, you still haven't answered the principal question."

"Oh, no," Kamosinko said, "that is right. Well, it is simple: he accidentally called me."

The entire courtroom was silent, save the fire on Kamosinko's hat. Then the Judge returned to his chair. "He… accidentally called you?" the Judge said, "that… doesn't seem very likely."

"It is truth!" Kamosinko said stubbornly.

"Is it?" Mr. Wright said, smiling, his hands on his hips, "or is it something else? Dr. Kamosinko, there's another person who might've known: a certain Ms. Bertha Caroline. And you're trying to cover for her, aren't you?"

_W-WHAT!? _"Ha," Armando said, "looks like Wright chose his side." He pointed his coffee cup at the Wrights, who were now sickeningly holding hands. The crowd's conversation was growling louder, and both the Judge and Dr. Kamosinko seemed dumbfounded.

"…did you miss part where I accused Caroline?" Kamosinko said, and he threw a scalpel at the prosecution desk again, "did you think I would be foolish enough to accuse obviously innocent person?"

"You already did," Mrs. Wright said, "yourself."

"And besides," Mr. Wright said, "I'm sure the defense can tell where I'm coming from. Right, Apollo?" He smiled at him, and Apollo wished that Mr. Wright would take that smile and just walk out of the courtroom.

"Well, Mr. Justice?" the Judge said, "I'm as confused as you are! Unless you can explain?"

Apollo thought for a moment. Come to think of it, _had _Caroline ever explained how she knew that Org was a backer? Specifically, she had said that her brother… told… her…

Of course. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "I think I know exactly what Mr. Wright's referring to. However, I think that he's also misinterpreting the situation."

The Judge nodded. "Mr. Wright does that," he said, "you're much more understandable, Mr. Justice. Now, please explain?"

"Dr. Kamosinko being the torturer doesn't make sense," Apollo said, "nor does Ms. Caroline. There's only two real options for the torturer: Ian Phillips, or William Waxman."

"The ecoterrorist and the defendant's brother?" the Judge said, glancing towards Caroline. She was as impassive as ever.

"No," Kamosinko said, "no one involved. I am torturer."

"Are you?" Apollo said, his hands on the desk. "Dr. Kamosinko, I think there is one thing the defense and the prosecution can agree on: that the true torturer was not you, but a different man: William Waxman."

Kamosinko's flaming hat shot a column of flame while Kamosinko glared at the court. "You are lying!" Kamosinko snarled, "Waxman innocent victim!"

"Do not accuse my brother!" Caroline added, yelling from her stand. "He is not me! False accusations are _against company policy, _Mr. Justice!"

"I'm afraid I still don't understand," the Judge said, "please explain. More."

"I was getting there, your Honor," Apollo said. "Like Mrs. Wright said, Org was willing to commit murder to silence someone for something he couldn't be tried for, or at least that he didn't want to be implicated with. If Kamosinko had tortured him and found out, then Kamosinko also would've become a target but never really stopped Org; it's almost as if he didn't even learn about Org's involvement until Org was already on trial for manslaughter."

"I!" Kamosinko's fire puffed out while Kamosinko stared wide-eyed. Then the fire restarted and Kamosinko threw a scalpel at Apollo that only barely missed him. "I knew already!"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Armando said, "was it because the CIA was protecting him from being tried for the bombing? Because in that case, he had no reason to kill Phillips in the first place."

"But if Phillips knew or did something else," Apollo said, "or the CIA never really _was _protecting him until _after _he was sent to prison the first time…"

"Which is case!" Kamosinko said.

"Then why didn't you have him sent to prison for the bombing?" Mrs. Wright said, "you, yourself, was not actually involved in the last dam bombing. There was no reason for you to hide your involvement with Blue Earth in the past when you were the only thing stopping _more _deaths."

"I… I, uh," Kamosinko said, and his fire dimmed while he slowly scarred the witness stand with his scalpel. "Well…"

"Furthermore, if Phillips had been the torturer, Org could've had him sent to prison during his trial, considering the nature of torture. However, if it was Waxman, then that explains a few things," Apollo said. "First, Caroline told the defense that it was Waxman who told her about Org's involvement, and she was clearly unable to have Org sent to prison for that."

"Implying that Org still had his CIA protection, and thus invalidating Org's motive for killing Phillips," Mrs. Wright said, "although your first point is also correct."

"No. Not to the torture, but to William," Caroline said, and she flipped through her book. "William did not tell me about the involvement until the day before his death. Three days later, Org had been arrested; I had not immediately contacted the police because I wanted more tangible proof first. By the time I found it in Org's files, he was in prison."

Apollo nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Caroline," he said, "and actually, there's one more question I want to ask: did you tell Kamosinko about what Waxman told you?"

"…I plead the fifth," Caroline said.

Why was she protecting him? "That's as good as a 'yes', but we can't use it against her," Armando noted.

"Dr. Kamosinko?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Nyet."

"Well," Mr. Wright said, "Apollo. Can you get back to what you were saying?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, sure," Apollo said quickly. "Ahem… the reason for Waxman being the torturer is very simple, and I have the evidence to prove it."

"Do you, Mr. Justice?" the Judge said, "then let's see it."

Apollo nodded and presented the QLF report. "It's all in here, your Honor," Apollo said, "this report's the exhaustive record of the Org vehicular homicide trial and perhaps the only remaining document related to it."

"And what does that prove, Mr. Justice?" Mrs. Wright said stoically, "we've all read the report."

Apollo held the paper up and read from it: "'…the court had been following normal procedures and the defense was yet to raise a valid objection. A recess was called and Dr. Ivan D. Kamosinko was seen entering the prosecution lobby. While no record has been found by QLF, when court resumed the prosecution suddenly argued for an increased charge and presented an updated autopsy report. Said report was shown to be fake, and it is the opinion of QLF that this is true'."

"…what does that prove?" the Judge said.

"Very simple, your Honor," Armando said, "when Kamosinko came to me, it was _after _the trial was already in motion. He waited to give me the updated autopsy report and motive, it's true… or at least, that's what I'd say if he hadn't told me he rushed there from somewhere besides the coroner's. As the court's seen, Dr. Kamosinko ordinarily wears medical scrubs, because he's normally called from the coroner's. However, that day he was dressed normally, as if he'd been in a meeting elsewhere at the time of fabricating that evidence."

"Proof can be found in the security recordings of December 2018," Mrs. Wright said, "I'll order an immediate search to see what Dr. Kamosinko was wearing."

She'd actually been surprisingly quiet...

"Wait!" Kamosinko said, "it is true. I was told on day of trial by Caroline."

The gallery's natural noise level increased. "Dr. Kamosinko," Mr. Wright said, "did Ms. Caroline contact you about the crime?"

"I… of course!" Kamosinko said, and he twirled his scalpel again. "She contacted me, da."

"So, to summarize," Mrs. Wright said, "what has just been proven to the court is that Caroline and Kamosinko have worked together in the past, and that Kamosinko found out about Org's involvement from Caroline. Caroline's brother Waxman tortured Org in the past for information about Blue Earth for unknown reasons, and presumably attacked him as well. He passed this information on shortly before dying. Finally, Kamosinko was contacted by Caroline about the crime. Correct, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo tensed up. He saw what she was trying to do: now that Kamosinko had seemingly told the truth, to use that to get that conviction. "Why would Kamosinko want Caroline in prison?" Armando said, "that's the real question we should be asking."

"Is it?" Mr. Wright said, "criminals often have odd motivations, Mr. Armando. I seem to recall that Phillips was killed to silence him; who's to say that Kamosinko's not throwing Caroline under the bus to silence her?"

The noise rose to a massive level and the Judge silenced them. "Mr. Wright!" the Judge said, "are you accusing Dr. Kamosinko of working with Ms. Caroline?"

"Objection!" Apollo said, and he slammed his hand on the desk. "Mr. Wright, Dr. Kamosinko has already been shown to be a liar. And even if he's now telling the truth, he did not say what exactly about the incident she told him!"

The Judge nodded. "That is very true, Mr. Wright," the Judge said, "Dr. Kamosinko! Please testify regarding this."

"Da, of course," Kamosinko said. He whittled with his scalpel and then stuck his scalpels in the witness stand. "First, original contact. It happened on day of trial. I was at office, working hard. That is when Caroline ran in. 'You must help me', she said, 'Gus Org killed Phillips to silence him. I can prove it!' And she gave me recording of Waxman's discovery."

"And you didn't give that recording to me?" Armando said.

"It was not important. All you had to do was trust me," Kamosinko replied.

"In other words, you didn't have it?" Armando said.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation," Mrs. Wright said. She glared at him and added, "but if he continues with his lies, I'll have no choice but to try and bring up Chandler-Chavez."

"No!" Apollo said.

But the Judge shook his head. "I'm afraid that Dr. Kamosinko's scaring me. If you can't find a good reason for that missing recording, then I'll just assume that Kamosinko's making things up and move on to the next testimony," the Judge said.

"What's she doing!?" Apollo hissed to Armando, "is she going to press him on working with Caroline or not!?"

"That's our job," Armando replied, "Kamosinko will get a separate trial later for his own crimes."

"Your cross-examination, Mr. Justice."

Apollo nodded. "Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said, "first, the clothes. Can you explain that?"

"Job of coroner is not just dissection, Apollo Runtovich," Kamosinko replied, "it is also administration. I dressed normally there. That is how I had time to learn and update autopsy report."

"That does seem logical," the Judge said.

_Well, one contradiction down… _Apollo thought, his hair drooping. Then, perking up, he said, "in any case, Dr. Kamosinko, you claim that you were given a recording, but you didn't provide it to Mr. Armando. Why?"

But it was not Kamosinko who answered; it was Mrs. Wright. She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward. "Mr. Justice," she said, "please think. What use would a recording be in the first place?"

"W-what?" Apollo said.

"As Caroline just stated, she didn't learn about Waxman's information until he was in prison," Mrs. Wright said, rapping a paper in one hand with her other hand. "Why would the court accept or care about the information known by Waxman?"

"Ha. Tough words coming from someone who visits me for advice to this day," Armando said, smirking at Mrs. Wright. She frowned.

"Tough words, Mr. Armando, but remember: Waxman wanted Org in prison for what he did," Mr. Wright said. "So who would be more credible: a man put in prison for a dam bombing suddenly deciding to talk with no other proof, or a CIA backer of the bombings who happens to be a respected coroner? Who would Prosecutor Godot trust?"

Armando said nothing and sipped his coffee. Clearly, that comment stung. Apollo knew little about prosecutor Godot; _would _he have trusted that criminal? However, was that the truth? Was that what had really happened? Was that the reason that Kamosinko didn't tell Armando? Wait a minute. He was looking at this _all _wrong, wasn't he…?

"Well," the Judge said, "it seems there is an answer. Now, Dr. Kamosinko, please testify about-"

"Objection!" The courtroom went silent; everyone's eyes seemed to be on Apollo. "That- that was a little loud," Apollo said, scratching his head, and then he said, "your Honor! The defense doesn't believe that sorry excuse for, well, an excuse."

"What?" the Judge said, "what are you talking about? That makes perfect sense!"

"It does," Apollo said, and he smiled and crossed his arms. "Except for one thing. Your Honor, Mrs. Wright, I assume you know the evidence laws?"

"Of course," Mrs. Wright said, "'No evidence shall be shown without the approval of the police department' and 'Unregistered evidence presented must be relevant to the case'."

"Do you have a point, Mr. Justice?" the Judge said.

"Of course, your Honor," Apollo said, "Mrs. Wright! Please tell the court about the evidence itself, please!"

"Evidence itself? What do you mean?" Mrs. Wright said. "If you mean the rules, then when the evidence is presented in court it's technically approved by the police department…"

"And what's the rules for that?" Apollo said. _Come on. If Kristoph could teach me this…_

"Evidence cannot be forged or it will result in severe consequences," Mrs. Wright said. "Your point?"

"And that's my point, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said. "There is one specific reason that recording could never have been presented. And that's that it was information discovered using torture."

Apollo could've heard a pin drop in the court. "I… forgot about that," the Judge said, "but does that technically not count?"

"Um, actually, yes," Mrs. Wright said, her hand to her mouth as she looked to the side. "People will say anything to _stop _torture, so legally it's a type of forged evidence, even if not performed by an officer of the state. That's what Mr. Justice was referring to earlier with Phillips. If Phillips had tortured Org, what he learned wouldn't matter to the court and couldn't be used against Org."

"And if it _was _performed by an officer of the state, then it'd still be inadmissible," Armando added. "Eighth amendment. So even if Phillips or Waxman acted under government authority, it still wouldn't count."

"In other words," Apollo said, "if knowledge of how that information had been found ever came to life, the forged autopsy report wouldn't've mattered. Which is exactly why you forged that report, doctor."

"What are you claiming?" Kamosinko demanded.

"I'm claiming something very simple, Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said. He slammed his hands on the desk and then pointed. "_You knew about the torture, Dr. Kamosinko_!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "of course he already knew! He admitted to it!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "that's exactly the point. Because the truth was never that Caroline told him about Org's involvement, it was _William Waxman himself_!"

The court burst into conversation. "Objection!" Mr. Wright yelled, "we've already determined that Kamosinko arrived late!"

"Exactly," Apollo said, "but isn't there still something odd here."

"And what would that be?" Mrs. Wright demanded, one hand on her desk.

"Caroline going to Kamosinko in the first place," Apollo said. "The real question is not the recording, but _that _inconsistency!"

The Judge silenced the crowd. "Once again, what seemed to be the major issue is not the real major issue," the Judge said, "that's what you're claiming?"

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. "Dr. Kamosinko is not ordinarily called to trials, is he?"

"No," Mrs. Wright said, "I was the first lawyer to routinely call him to the stand."

"Exactly," Apollo said, "so there's no reason for Caroline to go to Kamosinko in the first place. Why would she think to go to the _coroner _of all people?"

"Hold it!" Mr. Wright said. "Apollo, have you considered if Waxman himself told her to go to him?"

"That- that's a good point…" Apollo said, his hair drooping. Maybe his big break was a wash after all? Was this what the old prosecutors felt like, going up against Mr. Wright?

"Then tell me, Wright, why would _Waxman_ tell Caroline to go to Kamosinko?" Armando said, pointing his coffee cup. "Of all people, why him? Why not a police officer, or the prosecutor?"

"Well, perhaps Kamosinko already knew him," Mrs. Wright said, "so he'd be more likely to believe what he said."

"Exactly," Armando said, "and we've done no investigation into this at all. Further, the second question is how he knew that knowledge of Org's involvement was gained through torture: Caroline has no reason to tell Kamosinko that either. "

"The defense requests that Dr. Kamosinko testify regarding his relationship with William Waxman," Apollo said, "and how he learned that torture was used."

The Judge nodded. "The defense brings up a good point. How, exactly, _did _you know Waxman and learn about the torture, Dr. Kamosinko?" the Judge said.

Kamosinko, who had been busy carving something with his scalpels on the witness stand, shrugged. "Well, it is simple," he said, "William Waxman worked for me. That was brought up in trial, da?"

"Of cour-" Mrs. Wright began saying, and then she stopped as she browsed through the court computer. "I- where is the file for the trial of William Waxman?"

"Oh, it was all hush-hush," Kamosinko said dismissively, "all removed when he was killed and Org left. You see, during trial his charges were mysteriously extended. Why? Because he was torturer and CIA is no longer allowed to employ torturers. So they got rid of him."

"And you were there?" Mr. Wright demanded.

Kamosinko gave the court a wild smirk. "I provided scalpel. I was not torturer, but that is how I knew."

"…I see," the Judge said. "It seems that all those questions have been answered. If Caroline or Waxman told him, we don't know. But in any case-"

"Hold it!" The courtroom went silent and was staring at Apollo again. Apollo slammed his hands on the desk. "Dr. Kamosinko!" he said, "you've just committed a fatal contradiction."

"E-excuse me?" the Judge said.

"Think about it, your Honor," Apollo said. "Dr. Kamosinko. As already discussed by the defense, your behavior in the trial of Gus Org seems to imply that you only recently knew about Org's involvement with Blue Earth. And yet, you now claim that not only did you provide the scalpel, but that you knew that Waxman was a torturer."

"I… I see?" the Judge said, and he shook his head. "Actually, I don't see. Mr. Justice, can you explain the inconsistency in the witness' testimony?"

The Wrights' eyes were on Apollo, as were the whole court's, it seemed. Once again, the crowd was almost quiet. "Red," Armando said, "to one person, the same blend can taste differently different times. That's one of my rules."

_Great… a rule _and _a metaphor_, Apollo thought. The same blend can taste differently? What did that even mean? …wait. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "the defense believes that both of these incidents happened."

The gallery burst into conversation. "Order! Order! Order!" the Judge yelled, slamming his gavel, "Mr. Justice! How could both happen!?"

"It's very simple, your Honor," Apollo said. "We're making a fatal assumption. And that is that Dr. Kamosinko knew who William Waxman tortured."

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. She slammed her hand on the desk and said, "Mr. Justice! Dr. Kamosinko has already admitted to knowing who Waxman tortured."

"Well, of course, Mrs. Wright," Apollo replied. "But he didn't figure that out until Caroline approached him, did he?"

"Explain," Mrs. Wright said, glaring at Apollo. "And please, provide evidence. Do you have a way to prove that Dr. Kamosinko did not know about who was tortured?"

"At the moment, no," Apollo said, "I'm afraid that until Dr. Kamosinko gives us the whole truth, that we won't know what happened. At the same time, I still wish to present my theory."

Mrs. Wright kept glaring at him but nodded. "Very well, Mr. Justice. If the prosecution has no problem, I suppose I won't either. However, I _will _expect evidence to back up your claims at some point," the Judge said, throwing in an extra glare at Apollo.

"It all began with William Waxman," Apollo said. "Somehow, Waxman determined that Gus Org worked for Blue Earth and tortured him using a scalpel. The prosecution holds this to be the truth now?"

"Certainly," Mrs. Wright said. "And we also hold that Dr. Kamosinko was working with Waxman, like he claimed. He found out about the torture from there, and had to forge evidence because it seemed he feared that Org would tell the court about the torture if he just used an unsubstantiated motive. But Kamosinko's failure to meaningfully punish Org for his crimes lead Caroline into distrusting the courts and murdering or assisting in the murder of Marvin and Gus Org."

"I-I see!" the Judge said, "it's all clear now!"

"Objection! Your Honor, I'm not done!" Apollo shouted. Then he continued, "that would certainly be the case, Mrs. Wright, if that really _is _what happened. However, the defense has an alternative theory… that Dr. Kamosinko never even provided that scalpel."

"That is my scalpel," Kamosinko said dismissively, "I do not see point of denying it anymore."

"Of course, Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said. "However, I wish to remind the court of two things that happened earlier: the first is that Mrs. Wright was more than capable of taking a leftover scalpel from Dr. Kamosinko when he threw it at her. In essence, she stole one of his scalpels seemingly without him noticing. And the second is that Dr. Kamosinko seemed worried about his scalpels."

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "Mr. Justice! I doubt that Dr. Kamosinko routinely throws his scalpels, or that anyone could successfully steal from him without noticing! Further, that was a confiscation, not a theft!"

"Objection!" Apollo yelled. "Mrs. Wright! Need I remind you that Dr. Kamosinko took his scalpel bag off earlier! If this has been going on for years, it'd be more than possible for Waxman to steal a scalpel!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "Mr. Justice, if this is true and the scalpel was stolen, how did Kamosinko discover it!?"

"Simple. He caught Waxman with the scalpel on him," Apollo said. "It's likely that somehow, Waxman had a way of making sure that Org would not remember or report the torturing. Finding that scalpel would've spelled the end to that, however. Furthermore, as a coroner's office, all scalpels would be tracked and have to be accounted for. At some point, the missing scalpel would've been noticed, and then security footage would've discovered what happened. Correct, Dr. Kamosinko?"

Kamosinko's fire dimmed. "…da," Kamosinko said, "I would find missing scalpel quick."

"Anyway, Waxman had to return to the office to dispose of the scalpel, where he was discovered by Dr. Kamosinko," Apollo said. "They likely had an argument, where Dr. Kamosinko learned what happened. And then he turned Waxman in for torture."

Caroline gasped loudly and Kamosinko's fire went back out. "Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "you have no evidence!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "I have all the evidence I need! I request that the prosecution inspect the security footage of the morgue until the moment that Waxman stole that scalpel is found!"

"I… I will assign someone," Mrs. Wright said, "however, due to the manhunt that may take some time-"

"Do not bother," Kamosinko said. His fire had reignited, and he looked utterly miserable. "It is there. I… I found out he was torturer and I turned him in. However! I knew that victim was Org."

"Objection!" Apollo said. "Dr. Kamosinko, it's about time that you stop lying. You didn't know that Org was the man he tortured because if you _did_, then you would've had a plan in place after Phillip's murder."

"Maybe I am procrastinator," Kamosinko said.

"Red, if you want to stop him you have to find his motive, not just call him a liar," Armando said.

Motive? But Kamosinko had been acting entirely irrationally. What possible explanation could that have? "Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said, "let me assume that the rest of your theory is that Caroline had the recording of Waxman that she gave to Kamosinko. Kamosinko put two and two together and realized that the information had been obtained via torture, and that there was a possibility that the files of Waxman's trial would be accessed and the bump in charges would be found and investigated- invalidating the motive even with the recording. Thus, the forged evidence was required."

"Exactly right, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said. "That is the defense's claim."

"Then tell me, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said, smiling and leaning forward again, "why hasn't Dr. Kamosinko admitted to this yet? Why is he so desperate to claim that he was the torturer and pin the blame on Caroline?"

"…I don't claim to understand it, ma'am, but perhaps Dr. Kamosinko and Waxman were lovers," Apollo said. To be honest, he had no idea at all; that was what came to him. The crowd loudly conversed and Mrs. Wright looked surprised. Mr. Wright just looked away and smiled.

"Nyet!" Kamosinko shouted, and a scalpel landed a few inches from Apollo's hand. "Waxman and I were not lovers!"

"Then explain yourself!" Apollo yelled, pointing at him.

"I have told you! You are lying! You have no proof!" Kamosinko said, and he slammed his fists on the witness stand. "I have no reason to try and protect Waxman!"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, and he threw a coffee cup at Kamosinko that actually put out the fire again. Then, slamming a new coffee cup down, he said, "Dr. Kamosinko, the defense has a different accusation!"

"And what would that be!?" the Judge said, wide-eyed. "Are they not lovers!?"

"Ha, of course not," Armando said. "Red here is just jumping to conclusions. However, he's come to a different conclusion."

"I have!?" Apollo yelped, and the Judge and the Wrights looked at him. Then, scratching his head, he said, "um… I have! And that is very simple…" he put his finger to his forehead and thought. The lovers accusation had been spur-of-the-moment, but Kamosinko was definitely trying to protect Waxman postpartum. But why? What would he gain? He glanced around the courtroom, desperate for a clue of some sort, and then focused on Kamosinko. He had still not quite recovered; he looked… tired? Or was that… guilty? "…your Honor," Apollo said seriously, "the defense has a different accusation. We believe that Dr. Kamosinko feels guilty for the death of William Waxman."

The courtroom noise began increasing rapidly. "Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "do you have any proof, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo shook his head. "I'm afraid I have no idea what Dr. Kamosinko is thinking," Apollo said, "however, I still wish to present my case. Eight years ago, Dr. Kamosinko caught William Waxman, someone who probably worked for him in the CIA, with a bloody scalpel that he determined was used for torture. He might've been told by Waxman himself. So Kamosinko turned him in and purposefully extended the charges. And as a result, Waxman was eventually killed, leading to Org's supposed motive for killing Phillips and this travesty currently in court."

"It is- it is-" Kamosinko said, and he growled and said, "it is all false! You have no proof!"

"Is it, Kamosinko?" Armando said. He sipped his coffee and said, with a straight face, "a man who tries to pin the blame on himself is almost always protecting someone else. That's one of my rules. Dr. Kamosinko, you might as well just tell us."

"I- I-"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, and she slammed her hand on the desk. "I want proof, Mr. Armando! Not a lecture!"

"They already have the proof, Rissy," Mr. Wright said suddenly. Mrs. Wright blushed, but he continued: "Kamosinko's clearly being affected by what they've said. Emotional responses aren't admissible in court, true, but I think we might as well admit that the defense's theory makes sense." _Yes! Thank you, Mr. Wright!_

"Mr. Wright, you are the co-counsel for the prosecution," the Judge growled.

"Oh, I know, your Honor," Mr. Wright said. "Because this only proves that Caroline learned the hard way that she couldn't trust the legal system. The man she trusted to put the eel who let her brother die in prison was just as guilty, and whose own misgivings resulted in Org escaping justice. She would've learned that she had to go outside the law in killing Marvin Org so that Gus could be brought to justice- but had to act before Friday, as this note that Detective Skye discovered shows, because then any attempts to stop Org from going back completely to the old days would be defeated. Ergo, Dr. Kamosinko's behavior here is entirely consistent with why Ms. Caroline committed the murder."

_No! Bad Mr. Wright!_ "That… that makes sense," the Judge said. "Dr. Kamosinko! Is this true?"

"I…" Kamosinko took his hat off and scratched his head. He let the scalpels drop to the floor and looked around at the court with tears in his eyes. "Waxman was one of my workers, like son to me. He always looked up to me in CIA. But he was zealous, too zealous. When I found out about torture, I was so mad that I stomped away and reported him. And as a result, they were able to have him thrown in prison. I left Russia to escape torture and the man I trained ended up being just like that." Kamosinko's hands were shaking as he braced himself on the witness stand. He continued, "and then Waxman died. It was my fault. If I had not reported him… as has been said, I made connection when Caroline gave me recording. I knew that Org could not be touched because all evidence would be inadmissible. Proper files would not be discovered for some time. But at time, files thought to be destroyed. So I took coward's way and tried to imprison him using forged evidence."

"Then why did you keep accusing the defendant?" the Judge said. "Surely you would want to protect Waxman's sister?"

"I thought by preserving Waxman's reputation, I could pay for what I did to him," Kamosinko said thickly. "And as for Caroline… she called me and told me about death of Marvin Org. That Gus killed him. And she wanted my help to bring him to justice. Instead, I realized that she was killer and so I have tried to put her in prison. It is way of repaying debt. No matter who… murder not acceptable."

"…which means you don't think that you can prove that she killed Marvin Org?" Apollo said. "Why not just turn her in for that?"

Kamosinko stood there for almost a minute. "There was… rogue evidence," Kamosinko finally said, "a lone cigarette unidentified. In the real trial, it would come up and scumbag lawyers would get her found innocent because obviously third party when there is no way to know who third party is. So I tried to get her in prison for Org's death instead."

"Then you don't think she was behind that?" Armando said.

"…I do not know," Kamosinko said. He pulled out a final vodka bottle. "Just as I do not know why Caroline never told you all about my involvement." He twisted the cap out.

"Who would believe me?" Caroline replied. She flipped through her book and added, "I did not need more definitive proof against me. It's fortunate that Dr. Kamosinko did not reveal the reason for his true suspicion of me at first."

"Because it would've destroyed the case," Armando said, "just like it did all those years ago. You're a fool, Dr. Kamosinko, and you're still a fool. You haven't learned a thing."

"I know," Kamosinko replied, and he began to drink from his vodka bottle.

"Well, I suppose that explains quite a bit," the Judge said, "does the defense or the prosecution have any problems with Dr. Kamosinko's final admission?"

"…no, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "I think the truth shows us exactly what happened. As Mr. Wright said, this demonstrates why Caroline acted the way that she did. If the legal system failed her so badly, no wonder she took things into her own hands."

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "Mrs. Wright, I'm surprised your ears aren't working. Dr. Kamosinko just admitted to Ms. Caroline contacting him. Clearly, she still had faith in him."

"She did at first," Mrs. Wright replied. "But remember: Marvin Org died on January 1st. Over a week passed, and Org was still not accused. She realized that she wouldn't accomplish anything through Kamosinko and, quite possibly, learned about what happened with Org."

"…that is true," Caroline said. "Mr. Org did tell me about Kamosinko's role in getting him imprisoned. However, that was many years ago."

"Which means that she'd already come to the conclusion that she had to take matters into her own hand and only told Kamosinko as a way of seeing if things had improved. They had not," Mrs. Wright said.

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "If this is the case, then the defense requests to see proof!"

"Objection! Mr. Justice, does the defense have a problem with Dr. Kamosinko's claims? It'd be more than possible to find that missing cigarette!" Mrs. Wright yelled. "As for Caroline, that is the only reasonable assumption! Surely murder was the last resort!"

"I- the defense has no problems with Kamosinko's claim," Apollo said; he didn't know how to respond to the second claim. "However! The defense believes that not only was that third party involved in Marvin Org's death, but that it was related to the true murderer of Gus Org!"

"And then everything about Caroline's motive should be thrown out?" Mr. Wright said.

Apollo shook his head. "There's no way to prove or disprove it, beyond the defendant's own words," Apollo said. "And it seems that we have arrived on the truth involving Dr. Kamosinko and Ms. Caroline. But what this proves is not Caroline's motive. It proves that there's something still missing. Specifically, the events of yesterday."

"But didn't the defense already claim that the plan was last-minute?" the Judge said.

"Yes, which is why this is so strange. Ms. Caroline has done nothing but self-incriminate herself on her motive since yesterday," Apollo said. "The natural gas containers and trying to get Kamosinko to assist her in sending Org to prison are damning in particular. And yet, she really hasn't bothered hiding them. Fey's blackmail would be completely useless on the second day- and yet she supposedly still went along with it."

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "It could have been blackmail money alone."

But Apollo shook his head. "Fey claimed that Blue Earth was behind the attack," he said, "which is an oddly specific name to choose- a terrorist organization that has not existed for eight years whose most prominent action was while she was in prison. Why them? Furthermore, if Blue Earth was connected to this crime, as she seemed to imply, then why would Caroline of all people work for them?"

"Actually, Apollo, that's easily explained," Mr. Wright said. "If the court would please look at the newest document presented to the court: _$500,000 Chandler-Chavez Bell. Friday. _Chandler-Chavez is our next witness and will explain this. The money and date are also self-explanatory. But 'Bell' is the acronym for the Blue Earth Liberation League, or the full name of Blue Earth."

"So she helped in the destruction of the paper and saw the name in the process!" the Judge said, and he nodded. "That does make sense. But… why would Caroline want it destroyed?"

"Orson wanted it destroyed, as did Chandler-Chavez, for obvious reasons," Mrs. Wright said. "However, their crime was unrelated to the poisoning, as will be proven when we bring Chandler-Chavez to the courtroom."

"I see," the Judge said, "I suppose that must've been the first thing in her mind. Well, I suppose now-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and he slammed his fists on the desk. "Your Honor, don't let yourself be hoodwinked! Think logically- why would Fey know what 'Bell' means? _That's an actual word!_"

The gallery grew noisier. "Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "Chandler-Chavez and Orson were in Blue Earth! Who's to say they didn't mention that to Fey!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "if that's the case, then why did _they _hire the mercenaries?"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "the mercenaries were hired in the name of Morgan Fey! And besides, it's a possibility the blackmail was the burning of the papers, not the murder!"

"Objection!" Apollo yelled, "then explain why she assisted in trying to pin the blame on Caroline!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright yelled, "that's still not proven! It's still possible that the coffee pot _was _carried using the sleeve of her kimono, and her reasoning for removing the poison container still makes sense!"

"Objection!" Apollo bellowed, "have you forgotten about the other coffee pot!? She switched it purposefully so that the police would find something with only her and Org's fingerprints! Furthermore, _that pot had to be emptied. Who does the prosecution suggest did that!?_"

"We- I- ah!" Mrs. Wright screamed, and her hair fluttered behind her.

"She's down," Armando said, and he slammed his cup on the stand. "Your Honor! The defense charges that Fey blackmailed the true murderer, and that said murderer is not Caroline! Furthermore, the new evidence proves this and explains why Caroline couldn't be the killer!"

"And that would be?" the Judge said, furrowing his brow. What was Armando talking about!? "Mr. Justice?"

"I- ah…" Apollo laughed nervously and scratched his head.

"Think, Red," Armando said, "they claim that Caroline struck on Monday because of something that would happen on Friday."

"Oh, yes, I see," Apollo said. It was all clear now. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "this document proves that Caroline couldn't be the killer because she didn't know about this."

"She knew that something would happen on Friday. That's enough," Mr. Wright replied.

"That's not what I mean," Apollo said, shaking his head. "This document proves that Friday was exactly what she needed, not what she feared."

"The best way to catch a criminal is to catch him red-handed," Armando added, "that's one of my rules."

"Exactly," Apollo said, "your Honor, Mrs. Wright, Mr. Wright, Bertha Caroline knew that something illicit would happen on Friday. By calling the police on that day, then they would be able to arrest Org for the murder of his son and catch him in the act, ensuring his guilt. While she told Kamosinko as well, he clearly did not move to arrest him. In other words, her true backup plan was never to murder Gus Org. It was to catch him in a different crime and send him to prison again."

"Hold it!" Kamosinko called. He was propping himself up at the stand, and his hat had finally stopped smoking. "If this is case, then why has Caroline not mentioned it!"

"That- I don't know," Apollo said. "Sometimes the mind of a criminal is indeterminable, eh, Dr. Kamosinko?"

Kamosinko glared at him. "That is a good point, though," the Judge said. "Does the defense have a theory on that?"

"…of course we do," Armando said, smirking at the court. "And that is very simple: she couldn't say anything."

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Wright said. "Hasn't the defense already claimed that she wasn't being blackmailed?"

"She's not, at least by Fey," Armando said. "But what if there was someone else. There's a second mystery the prosecution is yet to explain: Orson's phone call. The only way for that to work is if there was someone working for Orson or Fey in the detention center. If Caroline admitted to her plan, she's simply be killed."

"But would she care?" the Judge said.

"You'd be surprised," Armando replied resolutely. "But in all fairness, your Honor, there's really only three people in here who can claim to know how someone can act when their life or someone else's is in danger."

Mrs. Wright glared at him and Mr. Wright looked away. "Caroline's life itself was in danger if your theory is true. In each of our cases, it was someone else important to us who was in danger," Mrs. Wright said. "True?"

"True," Armando said, "but it's the same principle. To someone fundamentally selfish like Caroline, it would be the same principle. Someone important to her was in danger: herself."

"I-I see," the Judge said, wide-eyed.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted. "Please do not character assassinate the defendant!"

"That's our job," Mr. Wright added.

"Wait," Apollo said, "Mr. Armando. If that's the truth, then there's a problem with your theory."

"And that is?" Armando said.

"Well, there's no reason for her to tell the court, then," Apollo said. "Especially today, after someone tried to kill me. If that's true, then for this to work that'd mean that the assassin is in the courtroom itself."

Armando calmly sipped his coffee. "…who's to say it isn't?" Armando said. "Who's to say that there's _not _a second assassin in the courtroom right now?"

The gallery quickly rose into a panic. "There's a gunner here!" "Run!" "Run for your lives!"

"I-I declare a recess!" the Judge squealed, and he ran off.

"Dr. Kamosinko! You are dismissed!" Mrs. Wright shouted.

"Please evacuate in an orderly line!" Mr. Wright yelled at the gallery.

"Let's go, Red," Armando said, "Caroline, c'mon. Let's get you somewhere safe."

And as Apollo left, he could've sworn he saw out of the corner of his eye a woman linger in the gallery, watching them leave. But when he turned to look, she was gone.

A chill went down his spine.

* * *

**A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to write, especially the scene with Phoenix objecting from the gallery. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, and as always, feel free to comment!**

**Also, theories are always welcome.**


	8. Trial, Day 3, Part II

_January 14, 1:25 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Defendant Lobby #3_

The police swept the lobby and then left Apollo, Armando, and Caroline with two guards. Ema was still asleep; Apollo wondered how long she was going to nap. In any case, there was no one waiting in the lobby, no bombs, no hidden guns, and above all else there were no alarms going off. "This really is just a tentative sweep," one the guards said, "there's no proof of an attacker, really."

"Oh, no, there is," Caroline said. "Mr. Armando, I must congratulate you. You were, once again, correct."

_Thanks for telling _me _that too, Caroline… _Apollo thought. "So, you don't mind going to prison, but you do mind getting killed?" he asked.

"Yes," Caroline said. She flipped through her book and snapped it shut. "Mr. Justice, my death is not part of the schedule," she said, "there are still things I wish to learn, to uncover."

"That's the police's job now," Armando said. "Org's been proven to be a criminal in court. We have Kamosinko's word, and the CIA's not protecting him anymore. Hopefully, they'll be able to take them down."

"Oh, please," Caroline snapped. "The police are utterly incompetent."

"Oh, come on!" the guard who'd spoken earlier said, "we're not _that _incompetent! Right, Claude?"

"Right!" the other guard said.

And then the door slammed open and a woman tackled Claude, sending him to the floor, and jabbed a Taser into the other guard. Then, pulling a gun on Apollo and company, the woman, who was wearing greasy jeans and a sweatshirt and had her blonde hair in a ponytail, carefully shut the door, put the unconscious policemen in front of the door and said, "line up on the wall."

"Who are you?" Armando said, entirely undaunted.

The woman switched her gun to him. "My name… that's not important," she said.

"Caitlin Adams, right?" Armando said, and then he added, "Red, Caroline, go stand against the wall. I've got this."

What was he going to do, shoot lasers out of his mask!? In any case, he kept calmly sipping coffee while Apollo joined Caroline at the wall, opposite the still-sleeping Ema. All they needed was one gunshot and surely she'd awake-!

"Yes, that's my name," Adams said after a moment. "Y-you despicable people… you- you _lawyers_!"

"Technically, I'm a prisoner, and Caroline's a secretary," Armando said. "And we need Red. So don't shoot him."

"You're all just part of the capitalistic kyrarchial commercial-governmental complex that's killin' the planet and the poor!" Adams spat.

"Really?" Armando said, and he smirked at her. "So, where does working on trains fit in there?"

"By taking jobs traditionally designated for men, I ensure that I'm able to smash the kyarchy!" Adams said, "and when you smash the kyarchy and the gender binary, it means that you have less people to pollute the planet!"

"Are you one of those people who try and stick two causes together without knowing a thing about either one?" Armando said, with a devilish smirk plastered on his face, "one of those holier-than-thou hypocrites who sit on their butt and whine online all day crossed with nuts who think the moon landings are fake and hoard guns to fight off the feds?"

"I! I am not one of _those _people!" Adams snapped. "I am _doing _something!"

"Like killing people," Apollo said.

"Shut up or kill your masked friend!" Adams yelled. "Anyway, I _am _doing something! And for your information, the kyrachy is _completely _real. It's a combination of-"

"The Illuminati, the Zionists, and the Patriarchy, right?" Armando said, "the greatest conspiracy theory organizations of the last hundred years?"

Adams violently twitched and stepped forward. "Shut up," she hissed, "why do you hate the environment? Why are you in the way? You're Mexican, you should side with us!"

"Ha! I'm Brazilian," Armando replied. "Well, born in the US to Brazilian immigrants, but you get the idea. Shows how much you know- anyway, who says I hate the environment? I just don't like hypocrites like you."

"I'm not a hypocrite…" Adams hissed. "I'm fighting for social justice and the planet!"

"Thanks to your sabotage, a whole bunch of innocent people almost died," Armando said, "what do you say about that?"

"Sacrifices must be made. Besides, rural Japanese people? Patriarchal," Adams said.

"It's a women-dominated society, you know," Armando said. "Or how about trying to kill Detective Skye?"

"The ends justify the means," Adams said resolutely. "Surely Ms. Caroline agrees."

"Why were you ordered to kill us?" Armando said.

"Shut up!"

"How do you fight for social justice when you're trying to kill random people who've done _you _no wrong?" Armando said.

"Be quiet!" Adams barked, and she advanced further towards Armando, but kept out of his arm's reach. But he kept standing there, one hand in his pocket, the other hand on a coffee.

"Hey, ever heard this? 'The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which'," Armando said. Adams' teeth were bared and she made a screeching sound.

"I am not a _pig_!" Adams snarled.

"Are you?" Armando said, and then he glanced at Apollo. "Hey, Red. You practiced your Chords of Steel today?"

"I, no," Apollo said, his heart hammering. What was Armando doing?

"Then practice," Armando said. Adams raised her gun up to Armando's mask.

"I- Objection!" Apollo yelled. Adams jumped and turned her gun to Apollo and then back to Armando, before he could lunge.

"That won't work on me!" Adams yelled, "we trained in Mexico!"

"Oh? Trained for what?" Armando said, "how to fail to kill three unarmed hostages?"

"I'm not done," Adams snapped. And then there was a terrible _bang _as a gun was fired.

And Adams collapsed. Ema was sitting up on the couch, her gun in her hand, glaring at the attacker. "Now I'm done," Ema said. "I mean, now _you're _done!" She ran over to Adams to put her in handcuffs, but Adams simply glared at her and put her gun in her own mouth. "Wait, no!"

Another gunshot, and Adams graphically died right in front of everyone's faces. Caroline dropped her notebook. Apollo tried to look away but found himself strangely transfixed. Armando kept sipping his coffee. And Ema looked startled.

"Go get the cops, Ema," Armando said, "it looks like we found our assistant."

* * *

_January 14, 1:45 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Prosecution Lobby #3_

Apollo, Armando, and Caroline were moved to a much heavier-guarded prosecution lobby, which looked the same as the defense lobby and currently had Pearl, Mr. Wright, and Mrs. Wright in it. When they entered, Dr. Kamosinko had passed them, apparently to go take an initial look at the body; "Even despite what he's done, for now he's the coroner," Mrs. Wright commented when Apollo kept staring after him.

Ema had stayed at the scene of the crime to help the police officers Adams had knocked out. Apollo was surprised that she was able to knock them out so easily, although his surprise lessened when Mrs. Wright mentioned her apparent penchant for exercise and wrestling and physical sports that meant that theoretically, she would know where to hit to take out one of the guards, and then taze the other.

"In other words," Mr. Wright had said, "if there had been more than two conscious guards, her plan would never've succeeded."

"If that's the case," Pearl said, "then why was Ms. Caroline so worried about her?"

"She had a gun and I'd seen her in the court room many times. She clearly had no concern for her life," Caroline said. "She had threatened me once in the detention center- although that time she was wearing a police uniform. That was when I was first brought there."

"I see," Mrs. Wright said, looking away again. "Ms. Caroline. Did you know about the train derailment?"

"I see no reason to speak to you," Caroline replied, "you have tirelessly fought for my imprisonment."

Mrs. Wright looked directly at Caroline. "'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'," she said, "at this moment, I know exactly who the defense is going to accuse of murder and she has an alibi I've already collaborated. I'm afraid that with the way this court works, you _are _the only other option."

"And yet, there's a massive amount of reasonable doubt," Armando said. "You're a lizard who keeps jabbing at an imaginary insect."

But Mrs. Wright shook her head. "There's a definite motive and there's still no real proof that Caroline's telling the truth about being threatened or Morgan about Blue Earth," Mr. Wright said, a hand on his hip and an infuriating smile on his face. "I think we can still make a case."

"Boss, why are you siding with _her_?" Apollo said, pointing at Mrs. Wright. She blinked. "I mean, Mr. Wright, it's just- I know what the Judge said, but could you _please _not make such specific theories?"

"You do keep accepting the defense's theories, though," Armando said. "Although it makes sense that he's siding with her, Red. He's co-counsel to the prosecution, and even if that's not his normal job he should still keep focused on what he's doing in court."

"Yeah," Mr. Wright added, looking a little less cheerful, "it's harder than you think to be a prosecutor in the first place. I'm still kind of thinking of how to get Caroline _out_."

"Feel free to help," Apollo said.

"Feel free to ignore him," Mrs. Wright said sternly. "Apollo, if I hadn't covered for Phoenix your case would've gone nowhere."

"Why did you do that, then?" Armando said, "your typical love martyr?"

"No," Mrs. Wright said. "I… I try not to do that. Dr. Kamosinko is a friend of mine, if an eccentric one, and I could tell that he was lying to the court. Why do you think I objected so little during most of his testimony?"

"It was better that we find out the truth then push our case," Mr. Wright said, "and the best way to do that is to see how the truth backs our _own _case."

"Even if it turns out that it really doesn't," Mrs. Wright added.

Ema entered the room. "More paperwork," she grumbled, "it's not my fault she shot herself… so, how's everyone?"

"Disturbed," Apollo said. He had purposefully not been thinking about Adams because whenever he did, her suicide ran in his head again. "I just… I can't believe they both killed themselves."

"That's the way with some people, Red," Armando said, looking down, and said bitterly, "some people become so vested in their warped view of the world that they're more willing to pointlessly sacrifice themselves to change nothing then ever wake up and truly smell the coffee. They blame others for their own deficiencies and if they're lucky, the only ones they mar are themselves."

"Mr. Armando…" Pearl said, looking down.

"Besides that, it also means we can't get anything out of them," Ema said. "I don't want to be insensitive, but… we still don't know the whereabouts of everyone in that cell that attacked the Mexican farm. Assuming they were all part of this, we have three dead and two arrested but there were a lot more."

"Yes, well, I think that this trial will be finished shortly," Mrs. Wright said. "Caroline. Were there any other people who attacked, or anything else that you have not lied about, assuming you did not commit the murder?"

Caroline shook her head. "There were no other such ill-tempered persons," she said, "just that train engineer."

"Mrs. Wright," Ema said, "are you guys going to keep going after her? Now that they've tried to kill Apollo twice, and they were clearly trying to silence Caroline…" The vision of Adams killing herself ran through Apollo's head again. He looked at the ground and began taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable reason for that," Mrs. Wright said. "And I will not let the actions of terrorists dictate what a prosecutor should do. I will keep at my job. That's my role."

"I see," Ema said, "but… well, you were wrong with Mrs. Fey and with Dr. Kamosinko."

"I've worked with Dr. Kamosinko for years," Mrs. Wright said, and she added bitterly, "and I thought that my mother had finally let go of her hatred. I was… wrong."

"Were you?" Mr. Wright said. "All she had to do was start pleading the fifth or stonewalling instead of answering the questions that lead to Armando figuring out about the train. Maybe, on some level, she really doesn't want Kurain destroyed?"

"Wright, what are you talking about?" Armando said. "Don't put sugar in the coffee of your close friends when they don't need it."

"Yeah, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, still not looking up, "there's no point in lying."

"We can tell you're just trying to make Iris feel better, Mr. Nick," Pearl said.

Mr. Wright sighed. "Okay, yeah, but she's still bothering me," he said. "Why did she mention Blue Earth? It's such an oddly specific thing to mention."

"I do not work for them," Caroline said promptly.

"We're not accusing you of doing that," Mrs. Wright said. "Hmm… are we looking at this wrong?"

"Yes," Apollo said, glancing back up. Ema and Mr. Wright seemed to be looking at him in concern, and then they quickly shifted their focus back to Mrs. Wright.

"No, that's not what I mean," Mrs. Wright said, and she went back to her 'thinking' pose. "What's going on here?"

"Mrs. Wright. Mr. Justice," a bailiff said, entering the room, "his Honor wishes to resume court. Do you have your last witness?"

"Yes, she's under guard at the detention center," Mrs. Wright said. "Please give me fifteen minutes. Until then… please escort the defense and defendant back to the courtroom, Detective Skye."

* * *

_January 14, 2:15 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #4_

It was time for the final witness. Apollo and Armando were at the defense stand. Apollo was still nervous and was desperately trying to stave off memories of the suicide from his head. "You need a drink to calm your nerves, Red?" Armando said, and he slid a cup of black coffee to Apollo. Apollo nodded and drank the bitter stuff, and then slid it back. Hopefully the heat and bitterness would stave off the memories and his still-fast heartbeat.

Across the court, the Wrights were talking between themselves. The Judge was at his stand, looking around the courtroom, and there were even more bailiffs and guards than usual. And somehow, the gallery had swelled in attendants. But most puzzling of all, the defendant still hadn't emerged.

"I-I call this court to a-attention!" the Judge said, and he swung his gavel down. Apollo jumped in spite of himself; how was this worse than when the first assassin tried to kill him? Had Clay just calmed his nerves that much? "W-well, I heard there was another death-"

"Four witnesses to the assailant committing suicide, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said. "The body's already been taken to the coroner's."

"And she was the missing train saboteur?" the Judge said, wide-eyed. "But… how could she take out two policemen?"

"The officers attacked normally do not provide security, and Ms. Adams was a proficient fighter," Mrs. Wright said. She glanced at a paper on her desk and added, "and according to Dr. Kamosinko, she 'got lucky' on her first attack and knocked the first officer unconscious in one blow. In any case, once again Detective Skye saved Mr. Justice from an untimely death. As well as Mr. Armando and the defendant."

"I see!" the Judge said. "Well, then it's time for a verdict! In light of the frequent attempts to kill Mr. Justice, this court finds Caroline-"

"Objection!" Armando shouted. "Your Honor," he said, summoning a coffee cup and shaking his head, "a man who seeks a conviction without finding the truth is just playing into the hands of a criminal."

"…that's one of your rules?" the Judge said.

Armando smirked and nodded. "Thanks a lot," Apollo hissed.

"Well, in any case," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution will now call its final witness: Irene Chandler-Chavez, one of the leaders of the cell that attacked the maize farm in Mexico whose recently had two members try and murder key members of this trial."

A woman took the stand. Her skin was tanned, although less so than Mr. Armando, and her hair was long and black. She was wearing a yellow sundress of a sort and had what appeared to be a floral crown in her hair. Her expression was graced with a small smile, and there were numerous rings on her fingers. Finally, she had expensive-looking necklaces, bracelets, and earrings on; she certainly seemed to be a child of wealth.

"Name and profession, please," Mrs. Wright said.

"My name is Irene Chandler-Chavez," Chandler-Chavez said with the slightest hint of a Latin accent, "I am an environmental activist and biology major."

"Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Mrs. Wright said, "you are aware of why you were arrested, correct?"

"Of course," Chandler-Chavez said, "on suspicion of working with Henry Orson to destroy incriminating evidence, yes?"

"Yes," the Judge said. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez. I am told that you were Mr. Orson's 'sweetheart'?"

Chandler-Chavez made a "tch" sound and suddenly looked rather angry. "Henry Orson is a pig," she said, "he's a would-be Casanova and I had him thrown out of my hotel."

"If you wouldn't mind me asking, why were you in Los Angeles in the first place?" Mrs. Wright said, "don't you attend a school in the northeast?"

"Did you know that some species of dolphins mourn their dead?" Chandler-Chavez said, and she added, looking down at a flower she was wrapping around her finger, "in that respect, humans and dolphins are not that much different."

"So you were here for a funeral?" Mr. Wright said.

Chandler-Chavez nodded. "Marvin and I had been going out for some time when he died in that car accident," she said, "so I came out to California for his funeral."

"She did not arrive in California until the Friday before the murder," Mrs. Wright added, submitting her airline information to the court. "We've already confirmed this with security recordings. Furthermore, Orson's claim about being ejected from the hotel have also been proven. Now, Chandler-Chavez, you are aware what you have been accused of?"

"By Orson?" Chandler-Chavez said, and she curtsied. "Of course. Being the true murderer of Marvin's father."

"Please testify regarding that," Mrs. Wright said, "please explain your alibi."

Apollo tensed up. _Here we go_. Chandler-Chavez started winding that flower around her finger again. "The murder took place on Monday, right? Well, I was in my hotel room at the time of the crime. At my hotel, there are security cameras that cover anyone going to any rooms on the floor I was at. I didn't leave, and that can be easily proven."

"Well, Mrs. Wright?" the Judge said, "has this been proven?"

"Yes, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "security recordings have confirmed that Chandler-Chavez did not leave her room."

"Objection!" Apollo shouted. "Doesn't the possibility exist that she simply stayed elsewhere and only _appeared _to stay in her hotel room until _after _the murder?"

"No," Mrs. Wright said flatly. "She entered her room at around noon. She did not leave until 7 PM. And the only visitor she had was Henry Orson, who entered her apartment and was quickly thrown out and escorted out again about five minutes later, around 6 PM."

"Was Orson holding anything?" Armando said.

Mrs. Wright nodded. "He was, a gift for Ms. Chandler-Chavez. A necklace he was storing in a paper bag."

"It is a very nice necklace," Chandler-Chavez said, gesturing to one of the necklaces she was wearing, a gaudy gold-and-silver thing that looked like it needed to be polished. "Although he started making advances on me so I had him thrown out…"

Apollo couldn't blame her. "Her alibi seems rock-solid," the Judge said, "in any case, Mr. Justice, please begin your cross-examination."

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said. "Mrs. Wright, before I begin I want to confirm one thing: when was the pot poisoned?"

"It had to have been after the afternoon washing by the defendant," Mrs. Wright said, "which was at 1:23 PM, exactly, according to her. Even though the hotel is only five minutes by car from the company building, as the witness was in her room starting roughly an hour and twenty minutes earlier, it is impossible for her to be the murderer."

"Well, what if she poisoned the soap or something?" Apollo said.

"That's very unlikely, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said, "seeing as no poison was found in the first pot. Right now, we believe that the poison was contained the sugar container and put into the second pot that Mrs. Fey so 'helpfully' cleaned out for us."

Well, there was one potential way out gone. So Apollo thought. He thought and thought and thought. There _had _to be a way out of this! "Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Apollo finally said, "do you have any idea why Mr. Orson would try and implicate you?"

"He's a bitter fool. Surely you've met him?" Chandler-Chavez said.

"I have," Apollo said. She had a point. "Perhaps… you could've escaped via rope ladder?"

"There are external cameras too, Mr. Justice," Mrs. Wright said.

"I- well-"

"It seems the defense has no meaningful objections," Mrs. Wright said.

The Judge nodded. "I assume we can move on," the Judge said, "now, Ms. Chandler-Chavez-"

"Hold it." Silence reigned in the courtroom as Armando shook his head and sipped his coffee. "The best coffees require a good mug to hold them. Too many cracks and it all leaks out. That's exactly what's going on here."

"…what?" the Judge said.

"I'm- I'm confused," Mrs. Wright said.

"Someone please translate! Mr. Justice?" the Judge said.

"Your Honor, I'm as confused as the rest of you," Apollo said.

The courtroom filled with chatter that the Judge silenced with one jump-inducing gavel bang. "Mr. Armando! Please explain yourself! We can't keep up with your metaphors!" the Judge said.

"It's human nature to focus on previous presumptions. Ones like 'the witness is the one with wrong testimony'," Armando said, "and in this case, the court's looking at Chandler-Chavez's testimony all wrong."

"I am not lying, Mr. Godot," Chandler-Chavez said.

"No?" Armando said, "we'll see about that."

"I'll ask again: please explain yourself," the Judge said, "or face a penalty!"

"Calm yourself, your Honor," Armando said. "It's very simple. There's one question we never asked, but Chandler-Chavez isn't the one we need to ask, now is she?" He smirked and said, "Mrs. Wright."

"Yes?" Mrs. Wright said, putting her hand on her desk.

"Tell me," Armando said, "what kind of hotel was Chandler-Chavez staying at?"

"A luxury hotel," Mrs. Wright said. "Why?"

"Well, surely you've been to one before?" Armando said, "how about you, Red? Did you notice anything when you visited?"

"I was too focused on the attack on Kurain and the case to notice anything," Apollo said.

"In that case, could pictures of Chandler-Chavez's hotel room please be provided?" Armando said. Mrs. Wright sighed and nodded.

The court record updated with the pictures, and there were quite a lot. Her hotel room was _far _larger than Apollo realized, with all sorts of things that made Apollo and Clay's apartments look like piecemeal. Her kitchen alone seemed to be bigger than their apartments, as did the built-in laundry room and the bathroom with a hot-tub in it. There was a hallway leading off to a locked door and a second hallway that lead to a spare bedroom. And finally, there was all of her luggage and things: from her toiletries lined up by the police as well as her mourning clothes in the bathroom, to a box of expensive-looking imported tea next to a coffeemaker with a shiny coffeepot, it was clear that she wasn't exactly traveling in poverty. Still, Apollo wasn't sure what this was proving… unless…

"Mrs. Wright, where does that locked door go?" Apollo said, "I don't remember the entry door being at the end of a hallway."

"That leads into the room next door, which was unoccupied," Mrs. Wright said. "However, it can be locked from both sides, and it was locked from both sides when the police found it. Furthermore, that hotel room was undisturbed."

Apollo nodded. Another dead end, it seemed… "And there's your problem," Armando said suddenly, "Tell me, Iris. Have you ever checked if anyone ever went in and out of that room?"

"Well, of course she would," Mr. Wright said. "Right, Iris?"

But Mrs. Wright looked troubled. "I… actually, no," she said, "it was deemed unnecessary because both doors had been locked."

Armando smirked and Apollo crossed his arms. "Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "the defense requests that _that _security footage be checked."

"I did not leave," Chandler-Chavez insisted, although she didn't seem to notice that she had just decapitated her flower with her hand. "I did not!"

"We-we'll check," Mrs. Wright said, looking bothered, "I'll send in a call."

Five minutes passed, and Mrs. Wright's face soured when she received a call from the police. "Two people went in and out of that room," she said, "Henry Orson and an unidentified person wearing a black veil. I'll submit that data now." The court record updated with a chart: at 12:50 Orson entered the room, and then he left with Chandler-Chavez (or the unidentified person) at 12:59. Orson entered again at 3:30 and left at 3:37; Chandler-Chavez arrived once more at 5:00.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, and he crossed his arms and addressed the court: "Your Honor, it seems that Chandler-Chavez's alibi just shattered."

Chandler-Chavez bared her teeth in a look of outright shock. "I-I-"

"You will explain yourself!" Mrs. Wright said sharply.

"I- I had to escape from Orson," Chandler-Chavez said, "it was easy enough to have him just steal a key or something and unlock the door next to me."

"So you used him to create an alibi for the time of the murder?"

"No!" Chandler-Chavez insisted, "I was not at the company! I have never even had plans to meet with anyone there!"

"That's a likely story," Apollo said, "then how do you explain the true words on the 12-2 Report that you told Henry Orson to burn?"

"I-I did not-" Chandler-Chavez said, "I am not there! I do not know the murdered man!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "according to the note, you were to meet with Org this Friday, for the delivery of $500000 to Blue Earth! Your name was specifically written there- how do you explain that, Ms. Chandler-Chavez!?"

Chandler-Chavez leaned forward and looked like she had been slapped in the face. She seemed utterly dumbfounded. "How…" she said, "how…"

"There's no point in lying," Mrs. Wright said. "We know that you were a cofounder of the group that attacked the maize fields. Orson implicated you, as did Fey. Your boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and Org represents a political view you hold as toxic. Correct?"

Chandler-Chavez said nothing and simply clutched the witness stand, in a manner reminiscent of Kamosinko earlier.

"Your Honor," Apollo said, "the defense wishes to formally indict Irene Chandler-Chavez as the leader of Blue Earth and the true killer of Gus Org."

The Judge nodded. "Mrs. Wright, any objections?"

"No, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution believes that a better case can be made against Chandler-Chavez at this point."

The crowd's noise began building up as the Judge nodded. "Very well. This court finds the defendant, Bertha Caroline-"

"Hold it." The court fell silent again, and Chandler-Chavez began shaking. Her long hair was falling into her face, and her rings glittered in the light. Or was that… sparked? Electricity began crackling along the rings as Chandler-Chavez stood up, openly laughing. "That was remarkably quick," she said, and she smiled at the court, one corner of her mouth upturned higher than the other. To be honest, her smirk was scaring Apollo. "It's good to see you people know how to find your way out of an obvious lie, only to walk into another one."

"What are you talking about?" Apollo said. Chandler-Chavez cracked her knuckles and electricity crackled across all of her rings. Her crown also electrified and mostly burnt away, revealing a sparking tiara. She tilted her head first to the left, and then to the right, and then around, her eyes closed, and then opened her eyes to show her gray eyes that complemented her cruel smile.

"My name is Irene Chandler-Chavez," Chandler-Chavez said, "heir to the Chandler mining conglomerate and the Chavez agricultural empire. I am a daughter of privilege and that is what I wish to extend for myself."

Apollo suddenly felt chilled by her mere look. The Wrights looked unnerved, as did the Judge, and Armando just smirked. "I take it you don't don't believe in environmentalism?" Armando said, "or are you a repentant anti-capitalist?"

"Oh, please," Chandler-Chavez said, igniting a flower. "Environmentalism has its uses, at least right now. It's a religion, you know. A dogmatic, ignorant religion that throws out all it despises no matter how little that makes sense. You saw what happened to the assassins. They gave their lives for a false ideal and a false movement."

"And what bearing does that have on the verdict?" Mrs. Wright said, "it'll be hard to manipulate the masses behind bars, you know."

"Oh, I didn't do it," Chandler-Chavez said calmly. "I didn't kill Gus Org. That had to've been Caroline. So please tell me, Mrs. Wright. What is my motive? Where is the proof that _I _am the murderer?"

"I have already stated that," Mrs. Wright said resolutely, "as has Mr. Justice."

"I know _that_," Chandler-Chavez said. "But your Honor, I wish to provide additional testimony that may change things a little."

"What?" Apollo and the Judge said.

"Testimony about what?" Mr. Wright said.

"About a little group called 'Blue Earth'," Chandler-Chavez said, "and her leaders."

"Very well," the Judge said. "Please tell us."

Chandler-Chavez curtsied. "Thank you, your Honor," she said, in mock-politeness, and then she began: "Ten years ago, electronics billionaire Ian Phillips first began funding an ecoterrorist group that he founded, called Blue Earth. But Phillips couldn't fund them alone or he'd be caught. So he got two anonymous co-donors."

"Kamosinko and Org," Apollo said.

"Yes, little man," Chandler-Chavez said. "But they were both snakes. Kamosinko worked for the CIA and was eventually found out and cut out of the loop thanks to his assistant, Waxman, being discovered by Org. And Org used Blue Earth to simply try and destroy his competition."

"So that's how Waxman knew about Org?" the Judge said.

"Yes. Waxman was snooping where he didn't belong, from what I understand," Chandler-Chavez said. "But Waxman remembered Org and went back, if Dr. Kamosinko was telling the truth in the last trial."

The Judge nodded, and Apollo wondered how Chandler-Chavez had found out. Had it been relayed to her somehow?

"Blue Earth was seemingly defeated… however, we weren't gone. You see, after Org was released my mother's corporation began snooping itself into the matter and found out about Org. And we decided to use it," Chandler-Chavez said. Her electricity crackled loudly, and she said, "we threatened Org with the information being revealed and used it to secure favorable business deals. And quite frankly, I have no intention of letting go of that."

"So you had no motive?" the Judge said.

"While I'm sad that Marvin died, it was a car accident. Not some conspiracy," Chandler-Chavez said. How had she heard Kamosinko's testimony without finding out about Caroline's role in Marvin's death? What was going on? "And besides, there are other men out there."

"More like a Dahlia, eh?" Armando said, leaning forward on his desk.

"Dahlia Hawthorne was a fool incapable of making an intelligent plan," Chandler-Chavez stated flatly, and she looked at Mrs. Wright. "I would think the prosecution would know that. She was a sociopath with no understanding of how the human mind works, and it cost her dearly."

_Like you're any different? _Apollo thought. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Apollo said, "you claim you have no motive, then."

"That's what I just said. Pay attention, little man," Chandler-Chavez stated, switching her impressively icy glare to Apollo. "I was going to get $500000 on Friday from him to fund Blue Earth. Most of the money would be laundered and sent to my personal accounts."

"Why are you so blasé about this?" Mr. Wright said, looking utterly bamboozled.

"…I don't have to explain everything," Chandler-Chavez said. "And that is what I say now. I may not have an alibi, but you have no proof linking me and I do not have a reason for murder."

"Then what about the paper?" Apollo said, "the one that Orson was supposed to burn?"

"That thing? Oh, that was to get rid of evidence tying me to Org," Chandler-Chavez said.

"Then I take it you've met Org before?" Armando said.

"We met in prison in Mexico," Chandler-Chavez said, "that's where I made my demands known. I would obviously be released from prison, and he had no way of killing me. I was not as foolishly trusting as Phillips ever was. And I and my family had the blackmail needed. He wrote down the notes on the report. So I wanted that gone. That's all."

"I see," Apollo said, "and how long were you held in prison?"

"Overnight," Chandler-Chavez said, "you can check it if you want. Just ask the Mexican government."

"Very well," the Judge said, "it seems that you don't have a motive. Well, Mr. Justice- do you still want to continue your indictment, in the wake of this information?"

Apollo crossed his arms and smiled. "Of course, your Honor," Apollo said, "Chandler-Chavez just destroyed her own testimony."

"What are you talking about?" Chandler-Chavez said arrogantly.

"Mrs. Wright. Can you please tell the court about the 12-2 Report?" Apollo said.

"It was released on the 2nd of December, 2026, by a team that included Morgan Fey," Mrs. Wright said. "It had the damages and attackers on it."

"Exactly," Apollo said, "things that would take some time to compile."

Chandler-Chavez looked momentarily surprised and then clenched her fist, sending electricity crackling across her fist and seemingly not hurting her. "The attack occurred in late November," Mrs. Wright noted, "Ms. Chandler-Chavez. If you are telling the truth, then Mr. Org must be a time traveler."

"Clearly, you didn't meet until _after _December 2nd," Apollo said, "and for you to hide that implies that there's some significance to that."

"And it'd have to be before January 9th," Mr. Wright said. "Because that's when Orson first started working. That leaves about a month-long period for you to meet with Org and set up this plan."

"Yes," Chandler-Chavez said. Some of her cool seemed to be lost; she was starting to breathe harsher and her hair was starting to become uncombed. "I suppose that's not the truth. I flew out to visit Marvin's family and met him there. I made the demand. That was December 27th. I left the next day. That is all."

"That would put in the right timeframe," Armando said, "but that still doesn't answer all the questions."

"What do you mean?" Apollo said.

"Your Honor. The defense requests that Chandler-Chavez testify about her relationship with Marvin Org."

"I'm afraid I don't see how this is relevant," the Judge said.

"Your Honor, the prosecution wishes to know this as well," Mrs. Wright said. "We are… interested in finding out something."

"Very well," the Judge said. "Miss Chandler-Chavez?"

Chandler-Chavez nodded. "If I must," she said dismissively again. "Marvin and I met in college. We began dating quickly, and together we were part of the original co-founding of the new Blue Earth. He was an FBI agent, I was using Blue Earth for my own ends. Unfortunately, he died in a car crash."

"I see," Mrs. Wright said, her face still blank.

"Your cross-examination?" the Judge said.

"Miss Chandler-Chavez," Apollo said, "how did you find out that Org was an FBI agent?"

"If you know how to use your body, you can get anything out of anyone," Chandler-Chavez said. "Just look at what I used Orson for. Destroying that paper."

"Yes," Apollo said, deciding to wait to pounce on that. "It's just that you've been showing odd knowledge, Ms. Chandler-Chavez. You knew about Waxman torturing Org, but you didn't know that Caroline provided the natural gas and that Org likely killed his own son?"

Chandler-Chavez looked off towards the side and began toying with one of her necklaces. "…I didn't know," she said. Mr. Wright's eyes narrowed; Apollo could tell Chandler-Chavez was tensing up. But why…

"Ms. Chandler-Chavez. Whose necklace is that you're touching right now?" Apollo said.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, and said, "that has no bearing."

"Also, it's Orson's," Mr. Wright said.

Apollo nodded. "Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "did the police ever find the phone Orson used?"

"No," she replied, "furthermore, Orson was under surveillance by at least one of the guards at all times. While the detention center security cameras can't pick up sound, they would be capable of finding out if Orson had called anyone."

"There are no blind spots?" Armando said.

Mrs. Wright shook her head. "After a certain crime about seven years ago, cameras were installed throughout the prison and detention center," she reported.

"Then the prosecution charges that Orson couldn't contact Fey?" the Judge said.

"…no," Mrs. Wright said, "the prosecution believes that Adams was the go-between for Orson and Fey."

That was exactly what Apollo was thinking. Now, to extend this… "Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Apollo said, "I have a little theory for you, one that can be easily proven. That you knew about Kamosinko's trial proves that you had some sort of connection to the court to find out what was happening. Your Honor, the defense wishes to examine one thing on her person."

Chandler-Chavez gripped her necklace tightly. Bingo. "Explain," the Judge said, "and I will allow it."

"It's very simple, your Honor," Apollo said, "Adams was in contact with Chandler-Chavez."

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright slammed her hand on the desk and said, "Mr. Justice, need I remind you that during Kamosinko's second testimony Adams was likely in the courthouse? No civilians or police were being allowed in to the court building once the trial began, and she likely would've had to sneak in with the police at the beginning of the day."

"She couldn't have sneaked in at all, then?" the Judge said.

"No, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "there were guards stationed at every entrance point."

The Judge nodded. "It seems your theory is sunk," he noted.

"No, your Honor, it's just starting to set sail," Apollo said. "Mrs. Wright, the prosecution's theory involving this is that Adams was told what to tell Fey and Adams made it clear to Fey that Orson was the one who was giving the message, correct?"

"Yes," Mrs. Wright said.

"Furthermore," Apollo said, "a phone was never found."

"No," Mrs. Wright said. "There was no phone in the prison."

And Apollo crossed his arms and smiled. "Actually, I think there was a prison the entire time, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "and I think that we played right into Orson's hands to get it to him."

Mrs. Wright looked surprised, as did the Judge and Mr. Wright. The crowd began conversing loudly. "Wasn't Orson some rich clone of that Laurice guy that Wright knows?" Armando said.

"That's what he wanted us to think, perhaps," Apollo said. "However, it's been bugging me for the last few days that Orson caved so easily to Mrs. Wright and I," Apollo lied; he hadn't thought about it once, but now his theory was starting to make sense… "so the defense claims that that was entirely intentional."

"Orson is a fool, you know," Chandler-Chavez said, "you're giving him far too much credit."

"Am I?" Apollo said. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez, I can't help but notice that necklace you're clutching right now is rather grimy-looking compared to your other jewelry, at least when they're not sparking. Is there a particular reason for that?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time to polish all of my jewelry," Chandler-Chavez said, letting go of the necklace and looking away from the court with an arrogant expression.

_You were in the _detention center_! How did you _not _have the time!? _Apollo thought, but he pressed on, "or perhaps the dirtiness is there to hide something," he said, "or, just maybe… have blackmail material."

"What?" the Judge said, his eyes wide.

"Are?" Mrs. Wright said, looking surprised.

"You?" Mr. Wright said, also looking stunned.

"Talking about!?" demanded Chandler-Chavez, slamming her hands on the witness stand and sending great arcs of electricity into the air.

"Ha! I see," Armando said, smirking, "let me guess. That necklace she keeps holding is our missing phone."

"That's right," Apollo said. The crowd rose to a cacophony as Apollo explained. "As Mrs. Wright said, there's no sound recording in the detention center, which means that if someone used a small, thin phone like one contained in a necklace, or perhaps one that _is _the necklace, that as long as they kept their back to the camera they wouldn't be caught!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "if this is the case, then how did Orson get the necklace to the witness!?"

"You answered that yourself!" Apollo said, "Adams herself!"

Mrs. Wright cringed and then slammed her hand on the desk. "So you claim that Adams brought the phone to Orson?" she said.

"Yes," Apollo said. "Yes, I do. When she arrived at the detention center, Adams passed on a message from Orson and Chandler-Chavez gave her her necklace. Then, with his back to the camera while appearing to talk to Adams, Orson was able to speak to Fey even if the cameras seemed to show no contact."

"But… then how did Chandler-Chavez find out while Adams was in court?" the Judge said.

"Um… your Honor, I think that's rather obvious," Mrs. Wright said, pointing at Chandler-Chavez' necklace. "If the defense's theory is true, then Chandler-Chavez ordinarily has the phone."

"But… would she know how to use it?" the Judge said.

"Perhaps not," Mr. Wright said.

"Perhaps so, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, crossing his arms, "you can't bluff your way out of this."

"He was bluffing?" the Judge said.

"You need your ears checked, Red," Armando commented.

"No! I- never mind," Apollo said, and Mr. Wright smiled congenially at him. "Ugh. Of course she'd know how to use it. Come on, she was holding it!"

"And?" Mr. Wright said, "Apollo, if you were given a spy gadget by a friend of yours and you didn't know but still wanted to keep it, would it matter that you didn't know what it was for?"

"That's a false analogy, Wright," Armando said, "Chandler-Chavez and Orson aren't friends."

Mr. Wright smiled and said nothing, but Mrs. Wright said, slamming her hand on the desk, "need I remind you of your own theory, Mr. Justice? That Chandler-Chavez was using the necklace as blackmail? Perhaps she's simply trying to safeguard that."

"But that doesn't even make any sense," Chandler-Chavez said, gazing coldly around the courtroom. "Orson brought the necklace to me, his fingerprints would be on it. How stupid can you people be?"

"That all depends on one thing, though," Apollo said, "if Orson got his fingerprints on the necklace when he brought it to you."

"And what makes you think he didn't?" Mrs. Wright demanded.

"Nothing, except for the fact that Chandler-Chavez never cleaned off that necklace," Apollo said. "It's odd that for someone with so many fine jewels, she'd have one gaudy, grimy necklace along with all her nicer, more electrifying jewelry."

Chandler-Chavez extended her arm at Apollo and electricity crackled along her rings. "Listen, little man," she said, "when the magpie collects shiny objects, it doesn't care what they are. Money is money."

"Perhaps so, but there is one thing Red missed," Armando said, pointing his coffee cup at Chandler-Chavez. "It's not the fingerprints themselves that matter. It's _the placement_."

Chandler-Chavez looked surprised, and an arc of electricity went between her hands, making her appear to have electrical handcuffs. The crowd, meanwhile, was growing in noise again. "Order! Order! Mr. Armando, please explain!" the Judge called.

"It's simple, your Honor," Armando said, "the question is not if his fingerprints are on it. The question is where. If, as the defense claims, it's a communications device and Orson knew how to use it, then his fingerprints should be in an odd pattern that does _not _resemble how someone would actually hold a necklace. And if that is the case, and Chandler-Chavez has not polished it to keep those fingerprints there, then that means that Chandler-Chavez knows about the necklace too… and thus knew about the phone."

Chandler-Chavez growled and slammed her fists together, electrocuting herself. "I-I admit it," she said, pulling her fists apart and bracing herself on the stand with one hand, "take the phone." Then she smirked and said, "Orson brought it to me after the murder and showed me how it worked. And then I had him kicked out. However, to keep it safe I kept it on me… which meant it went with me to the detention center. Like you said, Adams gave it to me and I was able to listen in on the trial."

"Was there any point when you did not?" Armando said.

"The communication cut out shortly after the defense accused William Waxman of being the true torturer," Chandler-Chavez said. "However, I know that must be the truth… the logic was perfect."

"Uh… thank you?" Apollo said, scratching his head, and then he said quickly, "wait, why did the communications stop?"

"How should I know? Adams is dead, you'd have to ask her," Chandler-Chavez said, and she smirked at Apollo. "I don't suppose you'd know, little man?"

"I-I don't know," Apollo said. Was there a reason? "Well, if that's the case, then I want to return to the original topic of conversation," he said, "Marvin Org. Your Honor, the defense requests that Ms. Chandler-Chavez testify concerning what she knows."

"The prosecution has no objections," Mrs. Wright said, "Ms. Chandler-Chavez. Please testify about the death of Marvin Org."

"Very well," Chandler-Chavez said, while a bailiff took away the phone necklace. Once it was gone, she grabbed a smaller platinum necklace, electrifying it, and began nervously twisting it. "Marvin died on January 1st, of this year. He was an FBI agent, who I was working with to try and destroy Blue Earth, because they were a threat to my own ambitions."

"But didn't you found it?" the Judge interrupted, earning him an extremely icy glare. "Eep!"

"Yes, I helped found it," Chandler-Chavez said after a moment, "I was approached by Marvin and Orson as the three of us are some of the wealthiest people at the school we went to. Orson was in charge of recruitment, Marvin planning, and myself funding. Using my mother's resources, I was able to do that marvelously well."

"I see," the Judge said, "then why destroy it?"

"Because extremists are bad for business and bad for money," Chandler-Chavez said. She looked at the Judge with the smallest of smiles and said, "I know it's been a long time since you were in college, your Honor, but perhaps you know how young people think?"

"We have no time for your soapboxing," Mrs. Wright said flatly. "Continue your testimony."

"Hmph," Chandler-Chavez said, "Birds that breed in colonies like gulls will mob to protect themselves, and especially their young, from predators."

"Uh…. what's your point?" the Judge said.

_Please stop engaging her, your Honor_… Apollo thought, and he said, "I think she just likes birds, your Honor."

"No," Chandler-Chavez said, "what I'm trying to say is that humans and animals aren't that different. Young people, well, all people, function in the same manner. And that mob is dangerous to people like me. But if you can get it to gather, and catch it all, then that's less enemies for you to deal with in the future."

"What?" Mr. Wright said.

"The less radical environmentalists, the better," Chandler-Chavez said, "if they're behind bars instead of blowing up my mines and fields, then that's a success."

"Look, just get back to Org," Mrs. Wright said. "Now."

"Hmph. Fine," Chandler-Chavez said, looking away. Then eyeing the court again, she continued, "the circumstances of Marvin's death was very simple. He crashed his car into a wall, and the natural gas containers exploded. According to some, it was foul play thanks to remains of a release mechanism and a cigarette found with the wreckage."

The courtroom quietly chatted amongst itself. Mrs. Wright's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. "Just to be clear," Mr. Wright said, "your communications device cut off during Kamosinko's second testimony earlier today?"

"Yes, spike-head," Chandler-Chavez said, "you can check the phone itself. It keeps a record."

Mr. Wright nodded and Mrs. Wright nodded to the bailiff with the necklace, who brought it over to her. "Well, I don't see any problems," the Judge said, "Mr. Justice. Your cross-examination."

"Of course, your Honor," Apollo said, "Ms. Chandler-Chavez. It's amazing how often you make contradictions in your testimonies."

"Oh?" Chandler-Chavez said, "whatever could you mean, little man?"

Apollo smiled and crossed his arms. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez, how did you find out about the foul play involved in Marvin Org's death?" he said.

"Yesterday, when Dr. Kamosinko first brought it up," Chandler-Chavez said. She smiled and added, "to assume foul play otherwise would be ridiculous, Mr. Justice."

"Is that so?" Apollo said, and he slammed his fists on his desk, then pointed at Chandler-Chavez and shouted, "how did you really learn about the device and cigarette!?"

"What are you _talking _about?" Chandler-Chavez hissed.

"We're referring to the fact that your phone died," Armando said, "and it died _before _Kamosinko told the court about the rogue cigarette. Considering the fact that it was thought to just be an accident and that police reports aren't usually available to the public…" Armando smirked, summoned his coffee, and drank from it, before slamming it down and saying, "you already knew about the cigarette, though, because you knew it was foul play from the start."

Chandler-Chavez growled and slammed her fists together, electrocuting herself again. "That's not good for out health, you know," Mr. Wright said smugly, "at this rate, your little magpie is going to become a jailbird."

"I-the phone cut in-" Chandler-Chavez hissed.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, and she slammed one hand on her desk. "I've just finished with the disassembling of your phone and no, it did not!"

Chandler-Chavez recoiled, electricity crackling off of her rings and into the air. "Listen here, you little peasant-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and he slammed his hands on the desk again. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez! You _will _tell the court how you knew about the cigarette!"

"I- there was an email with the information, it was sent anonymously," Chandler-Chavez said.

"Really? Then I suppose we can simply go find it again," Armando said, and he smirked at her. "Don't tell me you 'accidentally' deleted it."

"I- well, so what if I did!? My computer is my private life, you _cannot _look through it!" Chandler-Chavez snapped.

"With a warrant, yes," Mrs. Wright said. "Your lies are starting to run out, Ms. Chandler-Chavez. If you knew about the foul play, then there's a strong possibility you knew that Org was the likely murderer. You were in California for the murder and stayed at a hotel only five minutes away. You no longer have an alibi- at least not one that you've told us- and you are the only other person with the opportunity."

"Have you- I- well, I was at a movie! No, a museum!" Chandler-Chavez said, sweating.

"If you actually were someplace besides the company, surely you'd tell us," Armando said, and he added, smirking, "or did you just come down with amnesia?"

"I- well- you have no proof!" Chandler-Chavez said, "no witnesses!"

"We have Orson's testimony," Mrs. Wright said. "Orson couldn't've done it, but you could've. And while Orson did destroy that paper, he claims that you told him not to drink the coffee."

"I'm- I'm being framed!" Chandler-Chavez said, but she was tensing up and electrocuting her necklace again.

"Even if you are, that doesn't change the fact that the opportunity is still either Ms. Caroline or you," Mrs. Wright said, "and that there _is _a way to prove if you've been there."

What? "There is?" the Judge said.

"How?" Apollo said, "how would the police miss something?"

"Simple," Mrs. Wright said, "I would like to turn the court's attention to something specific that the witness has on her- those rings."

"What about them?" Chandler-Chavez said, "I'm always wearing them, if that's what you're saying. I wouldn't lose one."

"That's very true," Mrs. Wright said, "but what I'm wondering is- are they always on?"

"Are they-" Chandler-Chavez stopped talking and looked surprised again. "Well, I- um- no-"

"Then let's take them off and see if we can turn them off," Armando said. "…somehow."

"Well, actually they're motion-activated," Chandler-Chavez said. She made a motion like she was opening a door and the rings stopped being electrified. "See?" And then she did it again and they came back on. "Usually I keep them on, but that's the only thing that turns them on or off."

"That's an oddly specific motion," Mr. Wright commented.

"It's for just in case someone tries to attack me while I'm going in and out of doors," Chandler-Chavez said, "if I don't have my bodyguards or something."

"Then I've got to thank you, Ms. Chandler-Chavez, for digging your own grave," Apollo said, smiling. "Mrs. Wright, your Honor! The defense charges that the decisive evidence is at the scene of the crime- a slight electrical burn by the door!"

Mrs. Wright nodded. "I'll send Detective Skye to the scene of the crime to look for those," she said.

Chandler-Chavez violently twitched. "How dare-" she hissed, "how DARE you-" And she slammed her fists together, electrocuting herself one final time until her hair was all frizzled, and then she fell backwards. The gallery erupted into conversation as the Judge shook his head.

"Let's await the results of Detective Skye, and then I'll announce my verdict," the Judge said. "Mrs. Wright. I expect the police to be ready?"

"Of course, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, "Chandler-Chavez will pay for what she did." The court waited for almost fifteen minutes, the gallery loud, until Mrs. Wright's phone rang loudly. She said something and then hung up, and put her hands on the desk. "Your Honor," she said, "the electrical burns have been found. The prosecution believes that the true killer is Chandler-Chavez. The prosecution rests." And she bowed slightly.

Apollo could almost imagine the confetti falling. "We did it!" Apollo said, his arms crossed, "Apollo Justice has brought justice again!"

Mr. Wright looked relieved, Mrs. Wright was looking through her papers, Armando was sipping his coffee, and Caroline was flipping through her bag. "Ahem," the Judge said, "there's been a lot of twists and turns, but I think we've finally found what happened. This court finds the defendant, Bertha Caroline-"

"OBJECTION!"

And someone threw a coffee cup at the Judge himself. "Ah!" the Judge said, "Mr. Wright's trying to kill me!"

"No I'm not!" Mr. Wright yelled, "that was Mr. Armando!"

And so it was. Armando's arm was still outstretched, his face serious. And then he slammed one fist on the desk. "This trial isn't over!" Armando snapped, "so don't declare it done just yet."

"What are you talking about!?" the Judge said, seemingly still in shock about the coffee now covering his face, "but they caught the killer!"

"Did we?" Armando said. "Your Honor! The defense demands that Chandler-Chavez testify about what happened last Monday- about the crime where she killed Gus Org!"

The crowd's noise level became incredibly loud, to the point that Apollo almost couldn't hear Mrs. Wright shouted, "what are you _doing_!?"

"I'm finding the truth!" Armando shouted, and the Judge began banging his gavel down.

"Order! Order! Order! ORDER!" the Judge roared, "bailiff! A little help please!"

Order was quickly restored, and everyone's eyes seemed to be on Armando. "What are you doing?" Mrs. Wright said again, glaring at him, "are you trying to sink your own case?"

"No, I want to know exactly what happened," Armando said. "If you don't find the whole truth, then someone else is going to die. That's one of my rules."

Mrs. Wright narrowed her eyes but said, "the prosecution will resume the case, then, your Honor."

"V-very well," the Judge said, now cleaned off mysteriously. "Ahem! Mr. Armando, there will be no more throwing coffee, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Armando said, summoning another cup of coffee, "penalize the man who spends his time in prison? Well, I have some black nectar of the gods for you if you do that."

"Eep! Forget I said anything!" the Judge said.

"Please don't strong-arm the Judge," Apollo muttered, and then he stood a little straighter and said, "your Honor, I'll go along with Mr. Armando."

Chandler-Chavez was revived, her hands now in handcuffs, her electrical rings gone. "I- what do you want?" she said forlornly. "Have you come to laugh-"

"'Look at me, the tragic clown, no one to match my brilliance so I was forced to create my own arch-rival,'" Armando said, "give or take a few zvarris, right?"

"What?" Chandler-Chavez said.

"No one cares. Get down to it," Armando said, "we know you went to MBA and we know that you had a vendetta against Gus Org for his killing of his own son. We know that someone like you would be more than capable of acquiring the poison and that you had a reason to give in to Morgan's blackmail because you want to look out for yourself. Now tell us how you did it."

"…fine," Chandler-Chavez said. She coughed and said, "it all began last January. I received a phone call from a man using a voice changer, who told me that Marvin was dead, and that his father killed him. I didn't find out that that really happened until tomorrow." She began coughing again, and Apollo noted that there was very little tension: she didn't seem to be lying. Mr. Wright leaned over and whispered something to Mrs. Wright.

"Do you have a recording of that phone call?" Armando said, seemingly oblivious.

"Why would I?" Chandler-Chavez said. Then she continued, "I planned on confronting Org when I met with him tomorrow. But then I found out something chilling… the same voice-changer man called and told me that Org was planning on killing me too."

"And you believed him?" the Judge said.

"He was right about Marvin, your Honor," Chandler-Chavez said. She groaned and stood up straighter, and added, "I really did like Marvin a lot. He was very… dedicated. He was one of the few people who wouldn't put up with my attitude, and he was very helpful with my plans for Blue Earth, because he said that the FBI was only concerned about arresting the actual terrorists."

"Wouldn't that be entrapment?" Mrs. Wright said, "lure in unstable students…"

But Chandler-Chavez shook her head. "The new Blue Earth combined with a previous group," she said, "the old group was already being lead by Orson and Marvin. That's how I met Orson, by the way. And using my superior wealth and the information I had on Org, we decided to make a new Blue Earth."

"I see," the Judge said, "it sounds like true love. Please continue."

"I knew that Org couldn't be trusted, and I couldn't turn him in because there was no real way to prove he was the killer," Chandler-Chavez said. "That man who called me had a picture of Org putting the tanks in Marvin's car, but I couldn't submit it because by itself it'd never be real proof…" She straightened and took her tiara off her head, then pulled a folded photograph out of the back of it. She handed it to a bailiff, who brought it to Mrs. Wright, and a second later the court computer showed Gus Org carrying several natural gas containers to an open car.

"This doesn't prove anything," Mr. Wright noted.

"Exactly," Chandler-Chavez said. "We only know now that he did because of Caroline."

Wait a minute… "Did you know Caroline?" the Judge said.

Chandler-Chavez nodded. "My mother's company had people who assisted her in finding those files," she said, "and while Caroline was only interested in sending Org to prison, we realized we could still use those to destroy his reputation."

"Please get to the murder," Apollo said. He was starting to see something _very _wrong…

"It was last Monday," Chandler-Chavez said, sounding utterly defeated. "I used Orson for the murder, because he would do whatever I told him. He was entranced me. So I arranged for him to steal a card and then be thrown out of the hotel. Because it was coming from someone like _me_, they moved him out so quickly they didn't even check to see if he had a key. Then, with the key, he was able to open up that trick we used to dodge the immediate security."

"Well, it worked, if only because I was a fool," Mrs. Wright said.

"That's very true. We're both fools," Chandler-Chavez said. She grabbed her head and put her elbows on the stand, much like Mr. and Mrs. Wright did when utterly defeated. "I… what I did was unforgivable. I gave in to what _he _was. Orson helped me get into the building, although I had to open the door since he was lagging, and then we went to the eighteenth floor. Then, I… I took out a sugar shaker Orson had found that I'd put poison in, and dropped that into the coffee. I gave Orson the shaker and told him to dispose of it, then I told him to find Org's office and that paper and destroy it, and then I left to go watch a movie. I still have the ticket stub, you know."

"I see," Armando said, "and you didn't use it?"

"It would be useless," Chandler-Chavez replied, straightening again. "It was for 1:15, and I was three minutes late even though the theater was only across the street and down a little from the company building."

"That's an oddly specific number," Apollo said. Could it be…? "Are you sure-?"

"Of course," Chandler-Chavez said, smiling weakly at him, "if you doubt me, just check the security footage. I saw a camera there."

"I'll have it checked," Mrs. Wright said.

"Well, now that we know the full story of this tragic tale, it's time for my verdict," the Judge said. "But I must say that it's always sad to see how murder and death can treat people. To tear apart a loving couple and cause them to turn on the world itself…" He shook his head, and then said, "well, I suppose now it's just our job to punish those who give in to their darker sides. This court finds the defendant, Bertha Caroline-"

"OBJECTION!" Apollo shouted. This time, it was his turn to do this. The Judge looked surprised, as did Mrs. Wright, and Mr. Wright just looked away and put his hand to his chin. And Armando just smiled slightly. "Your Honor! We have not found the true killer!"

"What are you talking about!?" the Judge demanded, "Mr. Justice! Surely you are not claiming that Chandler-Chavez is _not _the true killer, when you have been claiming for most of this trial that she _is _the killer!"

"…I think I can see where he's coming from, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said, putting her hand on her desk, "however, I hope he understands that if Chandler-Chavez is not the killer, then Caroline necessarily is."

"Well, first, explain this to me," the Judge growled, "but if your explanation is not satisfactory than I shall press on regardless, and give you a penalty to apply at your next court."

_Oh, come on! That's not even necessary! _Apollo thought, exasperated, but then he slammed both his fists on the desk. "Your Honor," he said, taking out a piece of paper, "I would like to remind the court of one crucial detail. That Bertha Caroline washed out the coffee pots at 1:23 PM."

"And?" the Judge said. The gallery seemed to pick it up quicker, however; they were conversing loudly. "Am I not getting something!?"

"Yes, your Honor," Armando said, "remember what Chandler-Chavez said. She claimed that she poisoned the coffee before leaving for a movie that she arrived at at 1:18 PM. In other words, she never successfully poisoned anyone."

"But why would she add poison to an empty pot?" Mrs. Wright said, "that makes no sense."

"It does if you know nothing about schedules," Armando said.

The crowd conversed louder still. "Order! Order!" the Judge yelled. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez! How much coffee was in the pot when you poisoned it?"

"Not much," she replied, "to be honest, it was Orson's idea. He said that the boss usually had the last of the coffee before making a new batch."

And Apollo's blood ran cold. Of course… everything came back to this man. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "I'd like to remind everyone of something. We've been overlooking something massive."

"And what's that, Mr. Justice?" Mrs. Wright said. "Let me guess. That there's a possible third party?"

"Yes," Apollo said, "Henry Orson."

But Mrs. Wright shook her head. "He was under watch by the company the whole day," she said, "company supervision."

"Then how do you explain him assisting Chandler-Chavez?" Armando said.

"While it was considered, we decided against it," Mrs. Wright said, "he was on lunch break from 12:45 until 1:30 and under supervision the rest of the day until he slipped away to burn the paper."

"That may be the case, but was there any point when Morgan was watching him?" Armando said, "for all we know, that's the crime she witnessed."

"Fey was in charge of him between three and four," Mrs. Wright said, "the new coffee was apparently brewed around four and the death was about a half-hour later, during Fey's meeting with Org."

"Exactly," Apollo said, "if we assume that Morgan saw the first poisoning and blackmailed Orson and Chandler-Chavez, then she might've let Orson go."

"…no one saw me, at least," Chandler-Chavez said. She examined her hand and said, "I almost wish someone did."

"Enough of the self-pity," Armando said, "it doesn't matter if Chandler-Chavez saw her. What's important is that Morgan found out, and if Morgan found out then and waited until Orson was alone, then that explains what happened. As it is, it's impossible to say."

"Wait, so Orson _could've _been the murderer?" the Judge said, wide-eyed, "I'm afraid I'm confused!"

"Yes, your Honor, that's what the defense is now claiming," Apollo said. "And now we'll lay out what happened. Orson participated in the first poisoning, and was given the shaker and orders from Chandler-Chavez. But after she left, Caroline washed out the pot- and the poisoned coffee. At the same time, he was caught by Morgan, and together they made a plan. The defense thus charges that the true poisoner of the coffee pot was Orson, who finished what Chandler-Chavez started!" The gallery began growing noisier again.

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright suddenly yelled, and she slammed her hand on her desk. "Mr. Justice! If this is the case, then you're missing something crucial- the fingerprints!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, "we already know that Orson left! Who's to say that he wasn't wearing gloves!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Wright shouted, "that's not what I'm talking about." She slammed her hand on the desk and then said, "need I remind you about what Fey did?"

"About what?" Apollo said.

"About her removal of the coffee pot," Mrs. Wright said, "washing it to remove the fingerprints. Or did that not happen?"

That… that was a good question. "If our theory's right, then Fey's actions no longer make sense," Apollo said to Armando.

Armando nodded. "So it seems," he said, "but who's to say that once again, we're making one of those deadly assumptions? Doesn't Wright have a rule about this…?"

Turn the situation upside down and look at it… "Yes," Apollo said, and he closed his eyes. Time to try and figure this out. Henry Orson was the probably killer, and by the sound of it, decided to take matters into his own hands and kill Org himself. Morgan Fey watched the first crime and assisted in the second crime in return for the wealthy Orson hiring mercenaries to attack Kurain. Chandler-Chavez had likely already decided to frame Caroline because of her hatred of Org from Waxman's death, which she seemed to know about; Orson continued this plan and poisoned the pot of coffee after Org was killed. One of the pots was emptied, probably by Morgan, so that Caroline would use that one…

But why that one? Why _was _it emptied in the first place? Unless… it _had _to be. But why? Why not poison the first pot? Was there a reason? Apollo looked through the evidence, desperate to find something. He could vaguely hear the Judge asking questions and Armando stonewalling. There had to be _something_. And then he took out the picture of Chandler-Chavez's apartment, of her kitchen. Of her nice, shiny coffeepot.

Eureka. "We've made one more fatal assumption, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, coming out of his thoughts. Mrs. Wright blinked.

"What did we do?" the Judge said, "were you wrong about Morgan Fey's involvement?"

"No, your Honor," Apollo said. "Everything that happened with the coffee pots happened. But there's a specific reason for that, and it's _not _to poison Gus Org."

The courtroom was silent you could hear a pin drop. "What do you mean?" Mrs. Wright said, "what are you suggesting? That Fey was trying to be altruistic or something?"

"No, Mrs. Wright," Apollo said, "I would like the court to take a look at the photograph of Ms. Chandler-Chavez's hotel room kitchen. Specifically, that it has a coffee pot that looks like it's of the same make as the ones used by MBA."

"What's your point?" Mr. Wright said, "these… aren't exactly uncommon, Apollo. Not to mention, this would just implicate Chandler-Chavez more…" And then he stopped, put his hand to his chin, and said, "wait a minute."

Apollo smiled and crossed his arms. "Evidence is everything in the court of law, Mr. Wright," he said, "and that's exactly what Henry Orson knew. We've been played for fools this entire time."

"What are you talking about?" the Judge said. "Mrs. Wright?"

She had her hand up to her mouth, and then shook her head. "Your Honor, there's something very specific that we'll find in that pot," Apollo said, "and that would be the poison used to kill Gus Org."

"What?" the Judge said.

"Are?" Mrs. Wright said.

"You?" Caroline said.

"Talking about!?" the Judge said again.

Mr. Wright leaned over and said something to Mrs. Wright; Armando smirked. And the gallery erupted into noise even louder than when Armando's accusations came to light yesterday. "How?" "Is he crazy!?" "What in the world!?" "That's impossible!" "She stole the pot!?"

"Explain yourself!" the Judge yelled over the noise, silencing everyone with his gavel. "Mr. Justice, explain! Mrs. Wright! It doesn't matter who, I'm hopelessly confused!"

"Your Honor," Apollo said, his arms still crossed, "of course I'll explain. It all started after Chandler-Chavez tried to poison Gus Org. However, Caroline washed out the poison and Morgan Fey caught Orson and blackmailed him. Or, perhaps, he suggested the plan. After all, he did seem to have a lot of knowledge of Mrs. Wright's past and would have an idea of exactly what Fey wanted."

The Judge nodded. "The court already accepts that," the Judge said, "however, what I'm confused about is your claims about the pot."

"I'm getting there, your Honor," Apollo said. "At 3:00, Orson began working for Fey. However, they'd already begun working out a plan. That's where Orson's trip to Chandler-Chavez's hotel room comes in. He visited to steal something: the coffee pot there."

"Because he planned on using it as the murder weapon, so to speak, and then pin the blame on Chandler-Chavez?" Mrs. Wright said.

"Exactly," Apollo said, "Orson brought the pot to the company and had Fey empty out the the other pot and bring the second pot downstairs to the 17th floor. Then Orson put the poison in the stolen pot and brewed coffee using it. With no other options to use, Caroline waited for the coffee to be done and then used _that _coffee, which had no signs of being tampered with because it was poisonous from the beginning. Then, once she left, Orson went to burn the paper. Meanwhile, Fey dumped the poison into the toilet and gave the stolen pot back to Orson, and then cleaned out the pot she'd brought downstairs and locked it in her filing cabinet, leaving the poison container as a red herring in the trash and the tea cup to trick the police."

"Which means that Fey never even switched the pots to fool the culprit," Mrs. Wright said, "she simply switched pots when Orson brought them to her."

"Yes," Apollo said. "Since the first pot that was emptied was probably just moved to the side by Ms. Caroline or something, it would've been the natural police find."

"Then what was with Orson's terrible testimony?" the Judge said.

"He was misleading us, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said. "I think he always intended on throwing Chandler-Chavez under the bus."

"There is one thing, though," Mr. Wright said. "If that's the case, then how did Orson get rid of the pot?"

"It was during his visit with the necklace," Armando said instantly. "The hotel's only five minutes away, and it was closing time anyway. Simply slip past a few officers, clean out the pot in a public restroom, and then put it back in the hotel room. Then he brought the pot back in that paper bag."

"Then how didn't Chandler-Chavez notice?" Mr. Wright said.

"The second room," Apollo said. "Every room probably has a coffeemaker. I'm assuming you don't have to pass through the kitchen to exit, because that certainly didn't happen to us when we visited yesterday, Detective Skye and I."

"I see," Mr. Wright said, "so he went into the next room to switch back the coffee pots without Chandler-Chavez noticing?"

"There's probably a way he could get rid of her," Armando said, "say… giving her a shiny new necklace and telling her about the phone feature and leave her to examine it. Then, while she's busy in a different room, switch the pots, leaving the poisoned one in her room. At the same time, that's probably when he locked the door from the other side- when he was kicked out, he went to go lock the door."

"Yes, but… but why?" the Judge said, scratching his head, "I don't get it! Wasn't he a poor, love-struck fool?"

"No, your Honor, he never was," Mrs. Wright said, and there was something about her Apollo hadn't seen her do: there were tears in her eyes. "I-I know _exactly _what kind of person he probably is…"

Mr. Wright put his arm around her while Armando said, "Your Honor, the defense requests two things: first, that the coffee pot from Chandler-Chavez's room be studied. There should still be traces of poison in it, or at the very least recent cleaning when Chandler-Chavez doesn't drink coffee. If there is, then we charge that our theory is correct."

"And the second?" Mrs. Wright said, and she pulled away from Mrs. Wright, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and then put her hands on her desk. "Well?"

"Calm down, kitten," Armando said, smirking, "I was getting there. The second- the defense requests a cross-examination of Henry Orson."

"The prosecution has no objections," Mrs. Wright said, "I'll send for Detective Gumshoe, he's currently at the crime scene."

"Very well," the Judge said, "then there shall be a brief recess until Orson arrives and Detective Gumshoe's investigation is done. However, I want Chandler-Chavez brought back to the detention center for now."

"Of course, your Honor," Mrs. Wright said.

The trial was finally coming to an end.

* * *

_January 14, 4:01 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Prosecution Lobby #3_

Apollo, Armando, Caroline, the Wrights, Pearl, and Chandler-Chavez were escorted to the prosecution lobby, where they met up with Ema, who lead Chandler-Chavez away towards the door. "Everything's coming to an end," Mr. Wright said, "I feel _exhausted_."

"I just want to go home and curl up in bed," Mrs. Wright complained.

"Eh, I'm game for spending a few more hours out of prison," Armando said.

"You're only in for ten years though, right, Mr. Armando?" Pearl said softly.

Armando nodded. "I'll need a job," he said, summoning a coffee, "I wonder what there is for disgraced prosecutors."

"Well, maybe I could arrange something," Mr. Wright said, still with his hand on his head.

Armando nodded and Apollo glanced at Chandler-Chavez and Ema. They were yet to leave the room since a few police officers were still standing in front of the door, and Chandler-Chavez was back to her haughty self. Ema visibly sighed and brought Chandler-Chavez back to the group. "No leaving until court's done," Ema said, pouting, and she took out her Snackoos.

"You don't look very sad anymore," Pearl commented, looking at Chandler-Chavez.

Chandler-Chavez smiled. "Of course I'm sad, little girl, but that doesn't mean I can't make the most of it," she said.

"Most of what? You're an attempted murderer," Apollo said.

"Am I?" Chandler-Chavez said, "or was I acting in self-defense?"

"You poisoned a free-to-use coffee pot," Armando growled, "that's murder."

"Unless there's something you didn't bother telling us," Mrs. Wright said.

"…I have a secret email I use for Blue Earth communications," Chandler-Chavez said, "one that wouldn't come up during an initial search of a computer. But I don't delete emails there. One of the people I contacted with that was my financial backers, one of whom was Gus Org. And I received an email from him timestamped last Friday threatening to kill me for my part in the death of Marvin."

"You had a part?" Apollo said. Why couldn't she bring this up? What was she _doing_?

"Marvin and I had an argument over the phone on the 31st," Chandler-Chavez said, "it was the reason he left on the 1st and subsequently died. So in a way, I'm at fault, and that's what Org claimed."

"There didn't happen to be anyone else at the Org mansion on the 31st, did there?" Mrs. Wright said.

"I heard it was a large party held by Org, and some of Marvin's wealthier friends attended," Chandler-Chavez said, sweeping the group with her cold stare. Then she looked away from everyone and said, "I don't know who was there in particular, though."

"I do," Caroline said suddenly, and she flipped through her notebook. "There was a large amount of well-to-persons, along with myself and a handful of other employees. Hm. Interesting. Amongst the persons there was a certain Henry Orson too."

"The case is growing stronger," Mrs. Wright said. She pointed at Chandler-Chavez and said, "Ms. Chandler-Chavez. Did you know that you were being manipulated?"

"I… didn't think it possible," Chandler-Chavez replied, lacing her fingers together and looking down. "To think that that _idiot _was able to accomplish something so well… especially since he's the one who urged me to kill Org and told me that poisoning the pot would kill Org since he always drank what was left."

Apollo and the others nodded. _Yes_, Apollo thought, _you were stupidly manipulated, and now you're going to use that to get out of jail too, huh_. "Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Apollo said, "is there anything else you know that's related to Orson?"

"He's an extreme womanizer and somehow usually gets the ladies," Chandler-Chavez said, and then added, examining her fingers, "although not me, obviously."

"Yeah, we got that," Armando said, "what he means is what was the arrangement with Morgan and everything."

"I didn't find out about Morgan Fey or her plot until yesterday," Chandler-Chavez said. There was no tension; she seemed to be telling the truth, or at least not concerned. "Further, Adams and Ingram answered to Orson, not me. Orson was the original founder of the environmentalist group that I ended up running, and he was in charge of recruitment too."

"Well, then your plan was bad from the start," Ema informed her. "What were you thinking, letting him be in charge of your troops?"

"Did you know that there are some species of ants that form armies to take out other ants?" Chandler-Chavez said, now holding a flower from nowhere, "and that when such a thing happens, it's easy enough to simply try and kill them all?"

"What, hit them with a flamethrower or something?" Apollo said.

"Ha. I don't think that usually happens," Armando said, shaking his head. Then, pointing his coffee cup at Chandler-Chavez, he said, "and I've grown tired of your animal metaphors. Detective Skye, carry her away. And tell the guards to let them through or Iris here's going to dock their pay."

Ema nodded and lead Chandler-Chavez off. "We don't need her anymore," Apollo said, "I hope."

Armando nodded. "She's back to being her usual self, I think. The best time to get information was just post-trial, and that's worn off," Armando said, "always strike when the iron's hot. That's one of my rules."

Gumshoe ran into the room just as Ema escorted Chandler-Chavez out. "M-Mrs. Wright, sir!" Gumshoe said, running over to the group, "the results are in! There are traces of the poison in the coffee pot, sir!"

"It seems our theory's right," Armando said, "well, now that that's cleared up…"

And then Ema reentered the room with Chandler-Chavez and Orson. "There's a problem," Ema said, looking utterly serious, "a big one."

"What?" Mr. Wright said, "did something happen?"

"You could say that," Ema said, sounding… nervous? "There's been a little problem."

"The detention center is in open riot," Chandler-Chavez said, "the Mexican mercs were let out and stormed the armory. The officer said that they're coming this way."

"We need to evacuate, then!" Pearl said. Apollo nodded. Were they _that _dedicated to killing him and everyone else!?

"No." Everyone turned around to see Orson playing with his comb. A police officer was behind him, Orson's handcuffs in one hand, the officer's gun in the other. "You wondered what happened to the rest of our group," Orson said, and he smiled. "A city-wide manhunt is the best way to get people in, dudes. Just a handful of people who can be mobbed and tied up and then my people can come in."

"And there'll be no attempting to stop us now," the other officer said. "Put your hands up. Gumshoe, Skye, I want your guns."

"Hey, sweetheart, get 'em for us, will ya?" Orson said, kicking Chandler-Chavez in the leg, "and no tricks, or Sylvester here'll kill ya."

"Hmph, fine," Chandler-Chavez said, "I'll even stay in my handcuffs." Armando nudged Mrs. Wright and then she grabbed Gumshoe and tried to put him behind her.

And then, with a terrible _crack_, Mrs. Wright was on the floor, bleeding from her waist. "Iris!" Mr. Wright yelled, but Armando grabbed him. She struggled up and rooted around in her coat and then fell to the floor, her hand curled around something.

"Serves ya right," Orson said, "get 'em! Now! And whatever was in the lady prosecutor's hand!"

"I am, I am," Chandler-Chavez said, and she quickly collected the guns from Ema and Gumshoe and dropped them on the floor at Orson's feet. Then she walked over to Mrs. Wright, crouched, and extricated something from her hands.

"Well, what is it?" Orson said. "Tell me!"

Chandler-Chavez rose to her feet, her rings back on. "I haven't the slightest idea," she said, and then she held up the necklace. "Except for this, of course."

Orson nodded. "At my feet. Now," Orson said.

Chandler-Chavez made a complicated thumbs-up gesture and then walked over to Orson, knocking Apollo out of the way while she was at it. Armando was still holding Mr. Wright up, Pearl clutching him, and Mrs. Wright seemed to be out cold now, blood pooling on the floor. Gumshoe and Ema looked terrified and powerless, as did Caroline. And Apollo knew he mirrored them- not even when the gunmen had been trying to kill him had his heart beat this fast. Please let there be other cops…

Chandler-Chavez dropped the necklace at Orson's feet and walked next to Slyvester. Apollo looked around the room, and noticed that there were no other cops in there anymore. Where had they gone? "Whatcha looking for, dude?" Orson said, smirking, "all the cops? Don't worry. They've all been lead away already. Gotta stop those mercs, you know."

"You're not going to get away with this, you know," Armando said stoically. He grunted and pushed Mr. Wright away. "Without the prosecutor-"

"You're in no place to talk," Orson snapped.

"I'm not. But Chandler-Chavez is," Armando said. And Chandler-Chavez lunged at Sylvester, grabbing his gun with one hand and holding her rings close to the gun.

"I touch this, gun goes off," Chandler-Chavez said, and she pushed the gun to point at Orson's back. Orson yelped and jumped out of the way, as did Sylvester; and, taking advantage of that, Chandler-Chavez tackled Sylvester and pressed both sets of rings into him, electrocuting him.

Orson growled and started charging, but then Apollo and Ema tackled him, bringing him to the floor. There was a gunshot, and then more sounds of electrocution. And then Chandler-Chavez was standing over them, a gun in one hand, her handcuffs broken. She pointed the gun at Apollo's head… and then she pointed it at Orson's. "Henry Orson," she said coldly, "Sylvester is out cold. I wouldn't be surprised if he never breathes or thinks normally."

Apollo glanced at Sylvester; he had two large electrical burns on his clothes now and was unconscious. Armando had let go of Mr. Wright, and now he and Pearl were tending to Mrs. Wright; Gumshoe had the other two guns now.

"Listen up, pal!" Gumshoe yelled, "I-I've got a gun, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Your point?" Orson said, sighing. "What do you want?"

"You'll agree to a trial," Chandler-Chavez said, "or we kill you right now. Not to mention I'll have every single member of your little gang executed too."

Orson glared at her. "I don't care about them," he said, "we're all martyrs for the cause."

"Oh, in that case then I guess I'll just electrocute you to death now," Chandler-Chavez said, handing her gun to Ema and then crouching low and holding her zapping rings dangerously close. "I _do _know how to kill with these things… and even if you survive, you'll never be the same."

Orson swallowed and reached for the necklace-phone. He slid it open, dialed something, and said, "everyone, stand down. Tell the goons to just hold the detention center for now."

He shut the phone and looked at Chandler-Chavez. "I'll stand trial for Gus Org's death," he said, "but you need a prosecutor."

"Ha. Don't worry about that," Armando said, standing up. "I'll even make you a little deal. You get proven guilty, you go quietly for every crime you did. You get proven innocent, and we'll see about softening your role in Iris' attempted murder."

Mr. Wright, who had been busy wrapping Mrs. Wright's wound in his suit jacket, glared at Armando. "How can you _do _that!?" Mr. Wright demanded.

Armando just sipped his coffee. "…I accept your terms," Orson said, and he pulled his comb out. "Let's get this done."

"Someone find those paramedics," Mr. Wright said, "Gumshoe, Ema, go! We need all the help we can get!"

"Hold tight, pal," Gumshoe said, and he ran off, but not before handing the final gun to Armando.

"Good luck, Apollo," Ema said, "find this scumbag guilty." And she ran off too.

"Let's do this," Armando said, gesturing at Orson at gunpoint. "It's time for the trial."

"I'll stay here," Mr. Wright said, "Iris needs me right now. Pearls, please help Apollo."

Pearl, who had tears on her face, nodded. And then, a second later, was replaced with a much older woman, her hair still the same, with a large bust and a small mole on her chin. "Who's that?" Orson said instantly.

The woman looked around, and her eyebrows shot up when she saw Armando, with his gun, and Mrs. Wright on the floor. "Diego!" she gasped.

"The unkempt young man behind you had her shot," Caroline said, speaking up for the first time. "Ms… Fey?"

"Fey, yes," the woman said, "Mia Fey. What's going on?" Apollo explained the situation, and at the end of it she nodded. "Well," Mia said, "this is quite the situation. The detention center held hostage, terrorists running wild, someone trying to kill Maya."

"Could things get any worse?" Mr. Wright said.

Orson smiled. "Oh, I forgot something," he said, "I, ah, had some bombs shipped out, you know. They're all over the place now. Mr. Armando, if you try and go soft, or if I get the wrong verdict, then I start setting them off." His eyes fell on Mr. Wright, and his smile grew uglier. "And I know which one to set off first."

Mr. Wright grabbed the gun from Armando and pointed it directly at Orson. "What are you planning?" he demanded.

Orson shrugged. "Let's just say that I never sent _all _of my mercs to the boonies."

A bailiff poked his head in. "W-w-w-we'll be starting court soon!" he squeaked, and then he ran off.

The door opened yet again and Amulek Josephson arrived, a rifle in hand. He glanced at Orson and Armando and nodded. "I'll help," he said, "it's good that I was here." Armando lead Orson out, and before Josephson left, he paused and said, "by the way, Mr. Wright, Mr. Justice, Ms. Chandler-Chavez, I'd suggest reading up on the Engarde trial."

He left. "I didn't know he was still here," Mr. Wright said, and he turned back to Mrs. Wright. "Iris…"

"The paramedics will be here soon, Mr. Wright," Caroline said. "Well, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo was only half-listening; what did Josephson mean?

"I… asked him…"

Apollo, Caroline, Mia, and Mr. Wright glanced down at Mrs. Wright. She was half awake now, but she was pale and blood was starting to drip out of her coat. "Don't try to talk," Mr. Wright said quickly.

"No… Orson goes down… you need… the file," Mrs. Wright said, and she coughed. And then she went slack, and Apollo felt like he'd had a heart attack. Had she just…?

No. It couldn't be…

The door burst open, and Ema and the paramedics charged in, while Mr. Wright started sobbing. One of the paramedics reached down to her wrist, and then nodded. "She's barely alive," he said, "we'll get her out. Joe, get the burned guy."

Thank God, at least she wasn't dead... Mr. Wright was still crying and grabbed Mrs. Wright's hand, but somehow, Apollo knew he would be okay.

"Let's go," Ema said, putting her hand on Apollo's shoulder, "come on. Time for trial."

Ema escorted them away: Apollo, Mia, Caroline, and Chandler-Chavez, who had the necklace now. "Engarde…" she was muttering, "what does that even mean?"

They were lead all the way to the front of the courtroom, where Josephson was waiting with Edgeworth. "Go in, we need a word with Justice," Edgeworth said, and Ema lead Mia and Caroline in. "Justice. You _have _to win this."

"The Judge might be under threat too," Josephson said, "the problem might not be finding Orson guilty but buying time… or convincing him that he needs prison."

"Engarde," Apollo said. What else had happened in that case? "So there was a kidnapping, and Mr. Wright had a guilty client…"

"There was also an assassin," Josephson said, "the real killer. And two attempted frame jobs… not that different here, eh? Hired goons, the client's a killer, Caroline and Chandler-Chavez being implicated…"

Chandler-Chavez took the phone out and walked out towards a corner of the room. "Communications are being disrupted," Edgeworth said, "radio and cell's out, and the phone lines seem to have been cut. Orson's guerillas are running around the courtroom too."

"We'll be watching from the gallery," Josephson said, and then he rummaged around in his coat and handed something to Apollo. "I thought you might need this."

Josephson and Edgeworth entered the courtroom, followed by Chandler-Chavez, who was still fiddling with the phone. Ema stepped out and looked deadly-serious. "We need to win this," she said, "everything's riding on this verdict."

"The Judge already knows he's guilty, though," Apollo said.

Ema frowned. "Apollo, I heard about what happened against Chandler-Chavez," she said, "and about Kamosinko. There's something I've been thinking about."

"What?"

"The cigarette," Ema said, playing with her hair and looking away from Apollo. "I called in a check on the way to the crime scene, and, well, only a tiny bit of it was found. But the funny thing is that the Orgs and Chandler-Chavez don't smoke."

"Maybe a repairman?" Apollo said.

Ema shook her head. "Not only was it a new car, but it's almost entirely manufactured by robots," Ema said, "basically, it had to be one of Org's slimy friends."

Apollo nodded. "Thanks, Ema," he said, "I hope that this is what cinches this."

Ema nodded and shuffled her foot. "Well, good luck," she said, "I hope my science ended up being useful. I, uh, kinda recreated that file from scratch." The file… the one she'd gotten. Mrs. Wright said it was what he needed, but what did she mean? And then Ema did something unexpected: she gripped Apollo in a vice-like hug, and then shoved him towards the door. "Go get 'im, Apollo," Ema said, "I… have something to go check."

And she ran off. Apollo wasn't sure what to think, so he took a few breaths and turned to enter court.

* * *

**A/N: And time for everything to come to a close. Apollo vs the legendary prosecutor Godot, Iris hospitalized, and Orson's seemingly untouchable. Or is he?**

**So now: can Orson be stopped? As always, feel free to review, follow, and favorite! A huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!**


	9. Trial, Day 3, Part III, and Epilogue

_January 14, 4:45 PM, District Court, Los Angeles, Courtroom #4_

Henry Orson was at the stand, combing his hair, probably completely unaware that Mrs. Wright was close to death. Then again, he probably didn't care. Armando was at the prosecution stand, calmly drinking his coffee, and Mia Fey was at the defense. "So you're Phoenix's protege?" she said, and he nodded. She looked forward, her arms crossed, and said, "Diego's not going to go down without a fight."

Apollo glanced at Armando, who nodded towards the bailiffs. Then Apollo looked at the bailiffs and realized, with a sinking feeling, that he only recognized one of them. There were two others: a red-haired woman with her gun out and a man with a bandana chewing gum. The one he recognized was that Meekins guy. Were the other two working for Orson?

"Court is now back in session for the trial of Bertha Caroline," the Judge said, and he glanced at Armando. "…why is the defense's co-counsel at the prosecution desk?"

"There was a little accident and a disguised extremist shot Mrs. Wright," Armando said, "so I'll be taking over the prosecution."

The Judge nodded. "And your co-counsel, Mr. Justice? I don't remember authorizing-"

"It doesn't matter," Armando said promptly, "Mia's fine. Bare your claws, kitten, you'll need 'em."

Apollo felt nervous and wished he had more coffee to calm his nerves. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "the defense is ready."

"The prosecution is ready," Armando said, "and I want to lay down the prosecution's objective. The prosecution intends to prove that the murderer of Gus Org was Irene Chandler-Chavez."

"But what about everything you said about Orson!?" the Judge said.

Orson just combed his hair. "Don't worry about the prosecutor, dude," Orson said, and he scratched his chin. "You know, Mr. Judge-man, you need a beard trim."

"What!? You insult my beard!? A penalty on you!" the Judge yelled.

Orson smiled and twisted his comb. The ceiling suddenly shuddered. "There goes a few prosecution offices," Orson said, "kapoof. I think all those prosecutors were in the hospital, though. Don't worry."

"W-WHAT!?" the Judge said.

The woman bailiff cocked her gun. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "Mr. Orson has agreed to a little deal. The defense wishes to prove that Orson was behind the murder of Gus Org, as well as having an instrumental part in the conspiracy to attack Kurain village."

The Judge nodded. "I-I see," he said, "and- and who's pointing a rifle in my gallery!?"

"That would be Mr. Amulek Josephson, your Honor," Apollo said, "a friend of Mrs. Wright's. I think he's trying to keep Orson from running off."

"He's shiftless, and dangerous, but is that really necessary!?" the Judge exclaimed.

The other new bailiff pulled out his own gun and fired it at the ceiling. "Put the rifle away or we kill someone," he announced, "Blue Peace's in charge now."

"Eep! Y-yes sir!" the Judge shrieked, and he jumped under his desk. One of the bailiffs, the woman, walked up the stairs to the judge throne and forced him onto his seat, then leaned on the chair. The other bailiff kept his gun pointed at the gallery. Josephson put his rifle down.

"Let's begin," Armando said. "Orson. The evidence against you is overwhelming for the murder of Gus Org. What do you say?"

"What do you mean?" Orson said, combing his hair, "is there a problem?"

"The results of the coffee pot examination showed that you switched pots," Apollo said, pointing, "furthermore, you were the only one with the ability to actually make the switch to try and implicate Chandler-Chavez."

Orson frowned. "Your point is?" he said, and he snapped his fingers. The woman by the Judge fired up, shattering a light. "It doesn't matter what the facts are."

"Well put," Armando said, smirking. He summoned a cup of coffee and drank from it, and then he said, "then let's hear your testimony."

Orson kept combing his hair and said nothing. "This is odd," Mia suddenly commented, "Mr. Justice, did you put this photo down?"

Apollo glanced at her and then at the picture she was looking at. The paper Josephson had given him… it was a photograph of a cigarette-smoking man with blond hair streaked with gray sitting next to a boy, who had some sort of lollipop sticking out of his mouth… and a comb in his hand. Apollo glanced up at Orson. Was the boy Orson when he was younger? The comb matched, but Orson's hair was brown and this kid's was blond; furthermore, who was the man with gray-streaked hair?

"Orson!" Armando barked, slamming his fist on the desk, "answer!"

"Chill, Mr. Lawyer," Orson said, and then he leaned forward on the witness stand to leer at Mia. "So, babe, you wanna open up that costume up a little more? Might give me the boost I need."

"Objection!" Armando and Mia yelled at the same time.

"This is obscene!" Mia yelled.

"You don't need that!" Armando shouted.

"And I'll have the Judge's pretty bald head blasted off if you don't listen," Orson said. He glanced at the courtroom clock. "Hmm… won't be long before the mercs are set up. I hope you don't mind if the courtroom becomes completely cut off?"

The woman behind the Judge lowered her gun to the Judge's head, and he whimpered. "…sorry, kitten, but I guess we have to play along with the madman for now," Armando said. Mia sighed and started adjusting her channeling robe, looking incredibly uncomfortable, and Orson shuddered and ran his comb through his hair more times. Apollo felt sick.

"Oh- oh _yeah_, that's good!" Orson said, giving her a thumbs-up, "just what I wanna see on a woman! You'll be hanging out with me later, I think, unless you want a little 'accident' to happen to the Wrights' children…" And then he snickered. No, he chuckled.

No, he laughed. He laughed uproariously, putting his hand over his face and bursting into laughter. It was cruel laughter, like that of someone who'd gone mad. Someone like Kristoph. Then he stopped laughing, a huge, evil smile on his features, and flicked his comb. A blade swung out, and he quickly shaved, revealing more of his handsome face. And then he took the razor to his hair, hacking off most of his long hair, until he just had short, brown hair. And then he cut across his sweatshirt with his razor and threw it off, revealing a dark blue uniform of some sort, decorated with leafy crosses and teardrop medals. Then he flicked his razor shut and leaned forward again.

"My name," he said, giving the courtroom a mirthless smile, "is Henry Mingun Orson. I am the founder of the environmentalist group Blue Peace, designed to give a more _hands-on, _activist alternative to past useless environmental groups."

He was still leaning forward, but now his hair was short and somehow trim, his face was cruel and clean-shaven, but the biggest change now seemed to be his clothes: Apollo could tell now that it was a military-style uniform. There were platinum epaulettes on his shoulders, a necklace with a dark blue orb hanging from it, a multicolored stripe of various shades of green, brown, and blue over his right breastpocket, and a huge set of medals in all sorts of shapes, like teardrops and crosses and circles, over his left breastpocket. Finally, his buttons were also platinum, making him look like some sort of blue-and-white admiral. And Apollo realized what it all meant: to Orson, this was a _war_. And he was dressed for it. It was… it was terrifying.

"You said that you have the Wrights' children under your eye?" Mia said.

Orson nodded. "Here's a little hint, now that all communications are out: did you know that the Wrights' home is in a suburb in the shadow of a recent dam construction? It holds back millions of gallons of water… I wonder what a few children are going to do in the face of nature's wrath?"

The courtroom was paralyzed. Apollo thought of the Wright children- of Trucy, his steadfast partner last year who helped him bring Tiala, Crescend, and Kristoph to justice, and of her two siblings, the kids he met only two nights ago. Six years old and with death hanging over them… "That's not the only family there, you know," Orson added, examining his comb, "and the funny thing about it is that every one of my men in here has a detonator. You kill me, they blow the dam up. And the trigger's in the shoe, all they need is to step too hard."

"I-I see!" the Judge said.

"Just get on with the testimony!" Armando snapped.

"Ah-ah," Orson said, wagging his finger, "I'm not in the same position as I was in the prosecution lobby."

"Just tell us what you claim happened," Apollo said.

Orson smirked. "Very well, but don't bother objecting," Orson said, "or the Judge- or that neighborhood- gets it."

The Judge audibly gulped. "We're badly handicapped," Mia said, "but we can do this." Apollo nodded.

Orson snorted and then stowed his comb away. "Let's begin," he said, "I think I've made things clear. Ahem. It was all an idea of Irene's. After Marvin died, she found out from some anonymous source that Gus killed him." He paused and then snapped his fingers. "I wanna a chair, now. Useless bailiff. Get me one."

Meekins squeaked and ran out of the room; a few seconds later, Orson was seated, his feet up on the witness stand. For an admiral, he sure wasn't taking this seriously. "Are you going to continue?" Apollo said.

Orson shrugged. "You tell me, dude," Orson said, "anything else you wanna know yet? Oh, and remember- no objections."

Armando shook his head and sipped his coffee, but he was not smirking for once. "Your Honor," he said, "the prosecution has a second charge it wants to cover in this court."

"W-what's that?" the Judge said.

"The murderer of Marvin Org," Armando said, and he leaned forward, smirking again. "I'm sure Mr. Orson wouldn't mind if we included that too?"

"Of course not," Orson said. He pulled his comb out and began combing his shorter hair. "Carry on, dude."

"The question we need to ask ourselves now is simple: who was the anonymous caller?" Armando said, "because while Gus Org can't be punished for his part in Marvin's death, this caller who planted the motive for Chandler-Chavez can."

"Then who do you claim was the caller?" Apollo said, "Mr. Orson. Mr. Armando?"

"Isn't that obvious, Red?" Armando said, smirking evilly, "obviously, it was Bertha Caroline. Unbeknownst to this court, our two leading ladies have actually been working together the whole time- and it seems that Chandler-Chavez didn't know that."

"What! But, that's ridiculous!" Caroline said.

"Shut up, granny," Orson snapped. "Well, Mr. Attorney? Any problems?"

"Uh, no," Apollo said. He didn't see any way out, at least not yet.

"However, we'd like to ask a question of Ms. Chandler-Chavez," Mia said.

Orson shrugged again, and Chandler-Chavez was let out of the defendant's stand. She had Orson's necklace around her neck again, and her rings were letting off sparks. "Speak," Orson said, pointing his knife-comb at her.

"About what?" Chandler-Chavez said, "what do you want?"

"I want to know everything about that anonymous caller," Mia said. "Please."

Orson's goon pressed the gun into the Judge's head, and Chandler-Chavez glanced at him… and then shrugged. "It could've been her, but I don't think it was," Chandler-Chavez said, "so I'll give this little challenge to Henry… explain how Caroline found my cell number."

The goon pulled the gun back and Chandler-Chavez took her seat back. Apollo watched her go and then focused on Orson. How to stop him… "Well," Orson said, "you've gotta remember that Marvin was a little snake sent to bite Blue Peace. I'm sure he told Caroline the phone number at the party. And she used that to arrange the calls to Irene so that _Irene _could kill Org in her stead."

Apollo wanted to object, but he couldn't or risk Orson's wrath. "Mr. Orson," Mia said, "I know you said that we can't object… but what about pressing for more information?"

"Sure, chick," Orson said. Apollo waited for him to add a dirty request or something, but mercifully, he said nothing.

"Thank you, Mr. Orson," Apollo said. Orson nodded. "Mr. Orson. Ms. Chandler-Chavez claimed that the assailant was using a voice-changer. If Caroline and Chandler-Chavez didn't know each other, why was that necessary?"

"Hell if I know," Orson said. "Do I look like Caroline?"

"Then how about this?" Apollo said, "how do you know about Caroline's supposed phone call?"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, pointing his coffee at Apollo, and he shook his head and drank his coffee. Then, slamming his mug on his desk, he shouted, "we already know that Chandler-Chavez used Orson in her scheme to kill Org."

Apollo recoiled, shocked at Armando's objection. Maybe it was just that he was used to Armando _helping _him? And Orson was glaring at Armando. "What's this?" he said, and the male bailiff pointed his gun at Mia. "Are you accepting one of her lies?"

But Armando just smirked at him. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you," Armando said, "did you just say, 'I have no way to know about that phone call unless _I _was the one who made it'?"

The bailiff fired, and a bullet lodged just to the left of Mia- in other words, almost hitting Apollo as well. But Armando kept smirking, and Orson looked infuriated: his face twisted in fury, he'd sat up, his feet firmly on the ground, and his comb looking dangerously close to being twisted as his hands twitched. "We never collaborated on killing Org," Orson spat, "or is it time for another 'accident'?"

"It's time for more testimony," Apollo said, feeling utterly and absolutely tense, "if Chandler-Chavez is lying, then explain to us what _really _happened." Was he going to be shot…?

But Orson leaned back and began combing his hair again. "Good point," Orson said, "I guess it's understandable that you don't understand what's going on." He cleared his throat and said: "I got a job at MBA last Friday, 'cuz I wanted to bring my enemy down from the inside. Genetic engineering's one of the enemies of environmentalism, you know, of Blue Peace."

"Hold it!" Apollo yelled, taking a huge risk. The male bailiff pointed his gun at Apollo and Apollo gulped, and Orson was glaring at him with cold fury. "I-well- what do you mean by Blue Peace? Aren't you guys Blue Earth?"

"The only one who calls us 'Blue Earth' is Irene. Well, and Org. The rest of us, we were always Blue Peace," Orson informed him, smirking toothily. "Now, if there's no more questions, let's go on: on Friday, Irene called me to the hotel for a bit of fun. Afterwards, she told me a few choice secrets: about a death threat, and some phone calls, and how she was concocting a plan to kill Org. We already knew about what Org drank thanks to Marvin, so we were able to concoct a plan."

"So in other words, you were part of a conspiracy to murder Gus Org?" Mia said.

Orson snapped his fingers and the bailiff fired. One of Mia's (or was that Pearl's?) hair loops was blasted down. "I wasn't part of anything," Orson said, and he sighed. "I backed out, you see, after she kicked me out on Saturday." He began combing his hair again and continued: "on Monday, I did my job. During my lunch break, though, I met Irene. At the time, I didn't think she was about to go through with her plan. So then I went and destroyed that paper Irene wanted me to destroy. I did that, and then someone was dead. I realized what Irene's cryptic comment, 'don't drink the coffee' earlier meant, and then I tried to cover for her."

The Judge nodded, or at least tried to without hitting the gun close to his head, and said, "y-y-your cross-examination, Mr. Justice!"

"Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "I want to clarify a few things. First, you paid several visits to Ms. Chandler-Chavez on Monday, including once with a phone-necklace you were proven to have used. Do you deny this?"

"No," Orson said instantly, "there's no shame in admitting that. It was basically because I knew the wickedly smart police would find Irene at some point, and hey, what do you know? I was right."

"Because you told us about her," Apollo said.

"It took me a while to break down, though," Orson said. He shook his head and made a 'tsk'ing sound. "Such a shame, I wanted to protect my sweetheart at all costs."

Apollo glanced at Chandler-Chavez, who looked completely disinterested in him and was glaring at him with one of her impressively icy stares. "Then what about the coffee pot gambit?" Mia said.

"Objection!" Armando shouted. He shook his head and sipped his coffee, and then he said, "I'm disappointed, kitten. I have a question for you: what makes you say that Orson was the one who pulled that off? What about Chandler-Chavez herself?"

"But she has no reason to!" Apollo said.

There was another gunshot and a bullet slammed into the desk beside Apollo's right ear. "What'd I say?" Orson said.

"I shouldn't have to explain it," Armando said, "it was possible. Unless you have proof?"

"Yeah. A bullet in Fey's skull will be all the proof he needs," Orson said, "or do you have a different question, Mr. Attorney?"

Apollo swallowed. What he could do now? Orson had complete control! "Well," he said, "um… I-I guess maybe Chandler-Chavez could've done that too. But… but what about the report? Tell us more about that!"

"Heh, simple," Orson said, examining his comb. "It was written on a file called the '12-2 Report'. It said, '$500000 Chandler-Chavez Bell Friday' on it."

There was a crackle of electricity, and Apollo glanced at Chandler-Chavez, who had gripped the defendant's stand railing so hard that the wood was appearing to crack. Did she know something? Was the report wrong?

Wait a minute.

"That's completely wrong," Mia said, "_everyone _missed it."

"What was that?" Orson said, and he snapped his fingers again. The other hair loop was blasted off. "Keep this up, woman, and you're out."

Mia nodded, but Apollo was starting to think hard. No wonder Mrs. Wright had mentioned that, it was the key to Orson's guilt, wasn't it? But what had the original said? And most importantly, would he ever be able to present it to the court? "One other thing to clear up," Armando said, "Orson. Explain about Morgan Fey's claims."

"Dude, she heard I was arrested and tried to throw me under the bus. While I did use the phone to listen in to trial thanks to my buddies, I never called her," Orson said. Even though Apollo was sure he was lying, he certainly seemed completely tensionless. Was he just taking this all in stride?

"Well, it seems that all the lingering questions have been answered," Armando said, "except one. Orson, you are aware that you had a motive?"

"I don't have one, Mr. Lawyer," Orson replied, examining his comb again. "See, just because Org was a bastard didn't mean that I would ever've gotten my hands dirty. My job was never planning or killing. Just recruitment. One of my other friends, maybe, but not me."

The two bailiffs nodded; it seemed they knew the score. "So there was absolutely no motive?" Armando said, "no childhood past, no attempts to kill him because of Marvin's death, nothing?"

"Absolutely none," Orson replied, except this time he seemed to tense up. That he had a motive was clear, but what was he so tense over?

"Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "I couldn't quite hear you. You know, what with the gun noise. Could you please restate that?"

Orson rolled his eyes. "I have no childhood past with Org," he said, running his finger along his comb, and Apollo's bracelet instantly contracted, but Apollo tried not to react. "I didn't care about him killing his traitorous son, or about what he did to the old corrupt Blue Earth, or anything else. Got it?"

"…got it," Apollo said. He didn't like the look that the male bailiff was giving him.

"Well, that seems about it," Orson said, standing up and brushing himself off. "I'm glad to see that everyone's ready to finish this _exhausting _trial."

"What!?" Apollo said, "but we weren't even given the chance-"

"Shut up," Orson snapped, and the male bailiff pointed his gun at Mia. "Shut. Up. Hank, kill her-"

"…I think it's time for the defense to rest," Armando said quickly, before Hank the bailiff could shoot Mia. "What do you think?"

"I… the defense rests," Apollo said, feeling terrible.

"Just to let you know," Caroline said suddenly, "this isn't a legitimate trial."

"It's not a question of legitimacy," Orson said, "it's a question of having enough time as a free man to skip town. I ain't hanging around this capitalist wasteland any more, and neither are my pals."

"Go ahead," said a new, fourth bailiff wearing a monocle, and with what looked like stitches down his face. "Go ahead and tell us that 'we won't get away with this'."

Orson glanced up at him… and backed into his chair. "You," he hissed. Apollo blinked. You what? Mia also looked startled, and Chandler-Chavez was smiling lightly. Armando and most of the rest of court just looked confused.

"Uh… is that someone we're supposed to know?" Apollo said as the new bailiff joined the woman bailiff next to the Judge.

"I… no," Orson said, "Marcie, get down from there."

"What's the rush?" the new bailiff said, putting his hand on Marcie's shoulder, "why are you all afraid of me, John S. Doe, a humble bailiff? Do you not believe in Blue Peace?"

Orson coughed and pulled a gun out of his uniform, and said, "now, it's time for the verdict, right? Does the prosecution rest?"

"Under force of arms," Armando said, his visor smoking.

"Now, then, your verdict?" Orson said, his knife flicked out.

"W-well," the Judge said, practically sweating bullets, "I-I s-suppose this c-court has no ch-ch-choice but to find the defendants, B-Bertha Caroline and Irene Chandler-Chavez-"

And the doors burst open and Ema ran into the room. "Hold it!" she yelled, and a set of scalpels came flying out of nowhere and dug into Hank the bailiff, causing him to cry in pain and collapse to the floor- without pressing his foot to the ground. And then, with an ugly _bang_, Marcie the bailiff was shot by John Doe, and before she could hit the floor Doe caught her and slung her over the banister next to the Judge, who looked like he was going to faint. And then, with a _clicking _sound, Josephson pointed his rifle at Orson and the sound of gunfire erupted from outside.

"I'd suggest not stepping, by the way," Doe said cheerfully, "I've been instructed to painfully kill you if you set off your little bomb."

Orson looked at Doe, his face utterly pale, and sat back down in his chair. In contrast to his earlier smugness and sick behavior, Orson was increasingly looking like a nervous wreck. "Ms. Fey, who _is _that?" Apollo said, completely unnerved, to the point that he almost missed Dr. Kamosinko and Ema enter the courtroom.

"That would be Shelly de Killer," Mia said, "but what's he-" And her eyes fell on Chandler-Chavez. "…oh."

"Now, I have further instructions from my client," de Killer said, "they want you to actually stand trial, with no complications."

"Heh, well, at least that's not death," Orson said, and he glanced at Marcie's body. "But, what about the others-"

"You were a complete idiot, Mr. Orson," Ema replied, "do you know anything about bullet wounds?"

"A little," Orson said, "why?"

And Kamosinko shook his head and smirked, scalpels poking out between his fingers. "Prosecutor shot in side, but only on edge. Bullet did not hit vital organs or skeleton- enough to cause bleeding injury and hospitalization, da, but not too much." Then he snapped his fingers and a group of paramedics ran in and ran to Hank and Marcie.

"What?" Orson said, paling even more. Armando was smirking again, Mia was smiling smugly and brushing the fringe of her hair out of her eyes, and Apollo had crossed his arms and smiled. At _last_. "What?"

"She need hospitalization, da? So much so that show it to your goons, they take sympathy and let out prosecutor and husband who can now tell police about Mexican goons staying in prison," Kamosinko said. He crossed his arms and started laughing. "Now police are making assault on courtroom!"

As if to underscore it, there was a blast outside. "She's not dead!" one of the paramedics yelled, his hand on Marcie, and then Marcie and Hank were taken out of the room on stretchers run in.

And in the aftermath of it all, Mia looked through the papers and then glanced at Apollo. "Apollo," Mia said, "I'm going to go help Diego."

"What? But Ms. Fey," Apollo said, but she shook her head.

"I have something in mind," she said, and she joined Armando at the other desk.

"Um, I do want to ask one thing, though," Orson said, and he started running his comb over his fingers. "Mr. Assassin… you'll only kill me if I set off the bomb in the dam or something?"

"That is my instructions, yes," de Killer said, standing behind a very pale Judge.

And then Orson gave another psychotic smile and twisted his comb. The building shook. "I hope no one was using library #2," Orson said, smirking, "because it just went up in smoke."

There was another gunshot, and Orson's gun was shot out of his hand, literally. Josephson ejected a cartridge from his rifle, and Ema 'eeped' and ran over to the defense stand. "Listen up," Josephson growled, "Orson. There'll be a proper trial here."

"Hmph. Of course," Orson said, "however… I've gotta remind you of something. I still have bombs wired up. You skimp, Godot, and I start lighting this city up!"

"I understand," Armando said, and he smiled toothily at Orson. "Let's see about a real trial now, shall we?"

"W-well, this is certainly unusual circumstances!" the Judge said. "Um- let's start this over! Is the prosecution ready?"

"Prosecution team leader, ready," Armando said. Mia nodded.

"And defense?" the Judge said.

Apollo nodded. "Defense team ready," Apollo said, glancing at Ema, who was now looking through his files.

"I take it Ms. Fey and Ms. Skye will be taking over as the new co-counsels?" the Judge said.

Apollo nodded. "So it seems, your Honor," he said.

"And now, before we start, I do wonder something: I thought communications were down?" the Judge said.

"They still are, your Honor," Kamosinko said, scraping his scalpels against each other. "I will now go and try to fix."

Kamosinko left, and the Judge looked at de Killer and started shaking a bit more. "And how did Mr. Doe get contacted!?"

"I was contacted via a satellite phone number," de Killer said.

"Then it's time for a real cross-examination," Armando said, pointing his coffee at Orson- who was back to his normal slinking back. "Now, it's time for you to restate what you claim happened on Monday, the 11th of January."

"Of course, Mr. Lawyer," Orson said. He tossed his comb into the air and caught it, and then said, "like I said, on Monday, I did my job. During my lunch break, I met Irene. At the time, I didn't think she was about to go through with her plan since, you know, I wasn't gonna be able to help. But I agreed to go and destroy that paper Irene wanted me to destroy. I did that, and then someone was dead. I realized what Irene's cryptic comment about coffee just after lunch met, and then I tried to cover for her in court."

The Judge nodded. "And at what time did she make that comment?"

"Eh, around the time I met her during my lunch break," Orson said.

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, pointing. "Mr. Orson, even if she _did _make that comment, the coffee pots were washed out at 1:23 PM!"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, pointing his coffee cup at Apollo. "All we have is Caroline's word that she did it. Can you prove that she _did _wash out the pots?"

Apollo cringed. _Did _he have a way to prove it? Mrs. Wright had accepted it without question-

"All we need to do is examine those pots," Ema said suddenly. "C'mon, Apollo, you need to think with science."

"What? How would that be useful?" Apollo said.

Ema glanced at him. "Did you already forget about what made them so suspicious?" she said.

Oh. Apollo slammed his hands on the desk and said, "Mr. Armando! Of course I can prove it!"

"Oh? Then tell me," Armando said, "where's the proof?"

"It's the pot itself, Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "if the pot _hadn't _been washed, then why weren't there more fingerprints? Unless you're claiming that the first coffee pot was only used by Gus Org and Bertha Caroline?"

Armando was down, his visor smoking. Orson was sweating visibly again. "Objection!" Mia yelled, "can you prove that, Mr. Justice?" She flipped her fringe and added, "can you prove that the pot wasn't simply wiped?"

But before Apollo could answer in the negative, Ema spoke up. "It's pretty simple, Ms. Fey," Ema said, "there's a difference between wiped prints and washed prints. If you just wipe the prints, there'll be a certain amount of oils left behind on the plastic or glass, but if it's washed off, then those will be gone entirely. If there was no wiping on the first pot beyond Morgan Fey emptying the pot using her kimono sleeve, then-"

"-then there's proof that the pot was washed," Armando said, his visor still smoking. Mia recoiled. Apollo wondered if it was just force of habit.

"Yeah, well, in that case," Orson said, his eyes flicking towards the defense stand, "it must've been Caroline who poisoned him, not me!"

"Objection! Caroline had no opportunity to switch out that coffeepot!" Apollo shouted, "not only was she arrested at the scene of the crime, but _you _have already been proven to be the one who switched out the pots! And if you really are innocent, then I wonder why you did that!"

Orson recoiled again and threw the comb up into the air. He clonked him on the head, and then he began trying to turn it- only for a rifle shot to go off, leaving a bullet hole at his feet. He yelped and dropped the comb. "I-I-" he said, sweating rapidly, "I- well, you know-"

"It's almost like you really are the killer," Apollo said, crossing his arms.

"Objection!" Armando shouted. He slammed his coffee cup on his desk and said, "then explain this, Red! How did he find out about Chandler-Chavez's phone calls and email? Do you claim that they were not the work of Caroline and Org?"

"He's just giving you ammunition," Ema noted quietly.

"Shh," Apollo said quietly back, "before Orson sets off any more bombs." Ema pouted, and Apollo said to the court, "Mr. Armando, the defense believes that Orson was the one who sent those emails and phone calls."

"Objection!" Mia shouted. She slammed her hand on the desk and said, "Mr. Justice! Explain how he'd know what happened to Orson or was able to send that email!"

Apollo thought for a moment. He didn't know about the latter, but the former… "On Friday," Apollo said, reading from a paper from the court record from the first day of trial, "Mr. Orson was at MBA for a job interview, probably using his power as the co-leader of Blue Earth to blackmail his way into a job. If this is the case, then he was presumably in a meeting with Org. At some point, Org left his computer alone, allowing Orson to use his email to send Ms. Chandler-Chavez death threats."

"Objection!" Armando shouted, and he slammed his coffee on the desk. "Why would Org ever leave his desk?"

"That's… a good question," Ema said, "but what would actually get rid of him? Hmm…"

Apollo wondered that as well. Maybe it was a phone call? No, he had Caroline for that. Was there something he just had to address? Or maybe Caroline was busy… "Mr. Armando," Apollo said, "at what times did you meet with Ms. Caroline regarding your coffee bean testing initiative?"

Armando thought for a moment. "…every Friday afternoon," he finally said.

"Then the defense charges that Org had to leave to answer a call that Caroline couldn't answer!" Ema shouted.

"Wait, Ema-" Apollo said, but he was too late: Armando shook his head and sipped his coffee, while Mia smiled confidentily at them.

"I'm sure Mr. Justice and Ms. Skye don't need to be reminded about Morgan Fey?" Mia said, "I mean, she _was _a major part of the second day of trial."

"As the second secretary, she would've taken any jobs," Armando said, "so unless she was calling Org away herself, your little theory's less solid than a mug made of sand."

"Well, back to square zero," Ema said, leaning forward, her hands on the desk. Had she done something like this before? Apollo shook his head. He had to focus. But Armando and Mia were right. He couldn't explain that away.

Orson's infuriating smirk was back. "Well, looks like I wasn't the one who sent that email," Orson said, combing his hair again. "Should I move on?"

The Judge nodded. "Org's viciousness has already been proven. I suppose-"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and he slammed his fists on the desk. "Your Honor! The defense has a new theory to propose!"

"Yeah?" Armando said, "and what would that be?"

"That Morgan Fey was in on the plan from the start," Apollo said. The gallery, long silent thanks to Orson's goons, suddenly exploded back into life, and the Judge was forced to employ his gavel once more.

"But I thought the defense claimed that Fey caught them in the act!?" the Judge said, "I thought that the unusual timing of the attack on Kurain proved that it was an impromptu plan?"

"That was what we thought too," Apollo said, "however, that was under the assumption that Chandler-Chavez was the killer. But with the revelations about Orson, the defense has realized something else: that there's another question we never answered."

"And that would be?" Armando said, "what question is that?"

"The sugar-shaker," Apollo said, "the one that the poison was found in." He took out a paper and said, reading from it, "if the court will recall, Ms. Chandler-Chavez stated in her testimony that the poison shaker was given to her by Mr. Orson. However, Ms. Caroline told the defense in the first day of court that she was missing the shaker."

"Objection!" Armando shouted. "Red. How do you know that that's the truth?" He smiled and said, "that'd be _awfully _convenient, you know."

"Well, I can't say I disagree," Apollo said, "it would be awfully convenient. Except for one thing: there's no reason whatsoever for Caroline to leave behind that sugar shaker. It's just _awfully _convienant that she happened to leave it, isn't it, Mr. Armando?" He smiled and crossed his arms, and then added, "or can you prove that Caroline _did _leave that behind?"

Armando summoned a new coffee, shook his head, and took a long drink. And then he spat his coffee out. "However, if Morgan Fey was the one who stole it and then brought it as part of a plan with Orson, then that'd explain that," Mia said. "But if that's the case, then when did Orson and Fey have the time to plan?"

That was a good point. _Was _there a time they could've met? It would've had to be before the shaker went missing… "Probably after the attack on the maize field last November," Apollo said. "Fey was in charge of compiling the 12-2 Report; there's a high likelihood that she would've met with him during it."

"Yeah, actually, she did," Ema said, flipping through a copy of the report. "It says that the team met with the leaders of the cell."

"Orson was one of the leaders of Blue Earth- or Blue Peace, I suppose- and he's already boasted to that effect," Mia said. "Do you deny that then, Mr. Orson?"

Orson squeaked and began trying to twist his comb, but he quickly stopped when a rifle shot fired off one of his epaulettes. "I-I didn't meet with her!" he said.

"Ha, you coward," Armando said. He smirked again and said, "I wonder what happens when we tell Morgan that you told the mercs to plan for being arrested. You never really had any intention on killing Kurain off, did you?"

"I- that's a loaded question!" Orson said. "D-don't make me blow something else up!"

"But Mr. Armando," the Judge said, "if that's the truth, then what about the timing of the train?"

"We now know something from the attacks on the courtroom and the detention center," Armando said, "those mercenaries have been answering to Orson the entire time. Same thing with those saboteurs."

"Which means that he could've simply planned for something like this," Apollo said, "and purposely delayed the attack so that Fey wouldn't talk."

"But would Fey even talk?" Armando said, "I doubt she would. Ever."

"True," Mia said, "but _we _know her. Mr. Orson doesn't."

Orson paled more and pulled his feet off of the witness stand. "I- well- if that's the case, then how do you explain that report?" Orson said. "If I wanted to blame Irene, then why would I destroy it for her!?"

Apollo wasn't sure about that… or even if that was what the document even originally said. "Ema," he said privately, "can you science up that report or something? I want to know what it originally said."

Ema nodded. "I'll see what I can do," she said, and she took out her copy of the report.

"Your Honor," Apollo said, "before the defense addresses that report, it wishes to return to something else: the email."

"Let me guess," Armando said, "Morgan called Org away, letting Orson send the email."

"Exactly," Apollo said, "and I bet that even then Orson and Fey had some means of communicating so that Org would be called away when Orson could send that email."

"I-I see!" the Judge said.

"Hold it!" Orson screamed. "W-what about a motive!? I already told you all! I don't have one!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, and he slammed his fists on the desk. "Mr. Orson! You _do _have a motive!"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, "the prosecution demands proof!"

And Apollo submitted that photograph Josephson had given them. "Your Honor, before this trial began, I was given this photograph of a man and his son," Apollo said, "and I have to admit that at first I didn't recognize them. But I have a theory as to who these people are: _Ian Phillips and Henry Orson!_"

The gallery erupted into an enormous conversation. "Objection!" Mia shouted, "you have no proof that's who those people are!" But Armando's visor was smoking, and Orson'd turned white. "…Diego?"

"That- that's Phillips," Armando said, his visor still smoking, "but how-"

"I doubt that Mr. Josephson would give me unrelated pictures," Apollo said, "and while I don't know how he acquired them- presumably as part of his QLF research- I do know that up until now there's two major components of this case that we don't know the face of: William Waxman and Ian Phillips."

"But what makes you think that that's Orson," Mia said, looking disquieted, "they look nothing alike."

"No," Ema said, "there's a definite resemblance, scientifically-speaking." She had looked up from her paper and was now looking back and forth between Orson and the photograph. "I think that if we were to try and wash the dye out of his hair, we'd find a blond-haired child who shares the same love of combs as his younger self."

Orson's eyes went wide and he made another squeaking noise. "I- no!" Orson said, his voice higher-pitched as his voice cracked. "No!"

"Thus the defense argues that the motive for murder was revenge for the death of Ian Philips!" Apollo shouted.

"Objection!" Armando shouted, and he threw his coffee at Apollo. It was very painful. "Why would he wait eight years!?"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted, wiping some of the scalding-hot coffee off of his face with one hand, "unlike Caroline, Orson wouldn't've been in position until just recently, due to his age! Furthermore, as his plan has already shown, _he was desperate to make sure someone else took the blame_!"

"Objection!" Armando yelled, and he slammed a new coffee cup on the desk. "If that's the case, then why Morgan!?"

"Simple, Mr. Armando," Apollo said tersely, "his complicated scheme had many levels of backup. But in order for the original plan to work, he needed to make sure that his intended fallwoman, Chandler-Chavez, would have a reason to try and kill Org! And who better than a secretary to help arrange that! Further, Fey's corruption meant that for an heir to a billionaire like Orson, it'd be more than easy enough to get what she wanted!"

The crowd continued in its loud discussion. "Order! Order! Order in the court!" the Judge shouted. "Mr. Justice! Are you claiming that Orson intended from the beginning to have Chandler-Chavez murder Gus Org?"

"Yes, your Honor," Apollo said.

"And the defense's proof is this: the 12-2 Report that Orson burnt," Ema said.

"Objection!" Mia said, and she slammed her hands on the desk and pointed. "That's some of the most incriminating evidence against her!"

"That would be the case if that was what was written on there," Ema said, "however! Thanks to the power of science, or rather, handwriting, I've figured out something! Two different people wrote down these words!"

"What!?" the Judge, Mia, and Armando said, the latter two recoiling.

"Mr. Justice! Ms. Skye! What exactly is different!?" the Judge demanded. "Who wrote what!?"

Apollo put his finger to his forehead and thought. What would make sense for _Org _to write? "Your Honor," Apollo said after a minute, "the only word that Org ever wrote was '$500000'."

"What? But all those other words-" the Judge said.

"Objection!" Armando shouted, cutting the Judge off, and he shook his head and drank some coffee. "Red," he said finally, "don't you remember? Wright told Chandler-Chavez about what was written on the report that she saw during her testimony. Are you suggesting that she misremembered her own report?"

"No," Apollo said, "Mr. Wright never actually read the whole thing when Chandler-Chavez could hear them. The only time he _did _read the whole report aloud was towards the end of Dr. Kamosinko's last testimony- in other words, after the communications cut off. Then, during her testimony, he only read that she was going to give him $500000 on Friday."

"And that's the point, Mr. Justice," Mia said, crossing her arms and smiling slightly. "I'm told that she was shocked, but that's only because the court was able to obtain a burnt document."

And then Apollo crossed his own arms and smiled back. "And that's exactly it, Ms. Fey," Apollo said, "first, a question: does the prosecution accept the claim that that note was made on the 27th of December, the last time that Org and Chandler-Chavez could've met face-to-face?"

"Of course," Armando said… and then his visor started smoking. "Don't tell me…"

"Wait, December 27th?" Mia said, looking surprised and uncrossing her arms, "that can't be right-"

"But it is, Ms. Fey," Apollo said, his arms still folded. "And that's our proof that the note was forged. Because if it was _really _written by Org, then _there's no reason he'd just say Friday! That wouldn't refer to tomorrow, after all!_"

The crowd erupted into conversation, and Mia and Armando recoiled again. Orson fell out of his chair. "Great job, Apollo!" Ema said, "and great job me," she added, smugly, and she looked at the paper again. "Let's see… we don't have the original papers, but…"

"Hold it!" Orson shouted, standing up. "If _I _did that, then why would I admit to burning the paper!?"

"Because Chandler-Chavez would tell us anyways," Apollo said, "and because it was convenient for us to find incriminating proof of Chandler-Chavez that would 'prove' who the real killer was. So, while you did appear to burn that document, in reality you left the rest of the document so that a forensic examination would reveal what appeared to be the whole truth."

"But what about the name Chandler-Chavez? Or Bell?" Orson said.

"Org was a member of the original Blue Earth and knew exactly who was blackmailing him, since they talked face-to-face," Apollo said, "and further, he couldn't say anything about her role, because if he could he already would've- chances are, she had some sort of protection."

Orson recoiled and fell onto his butt. "Then all he wrote down was the monetary amount?" Mia said.

Apollo nodded. "If you think about it, it makes more sense for him to just write the monetary amount," Apollo said, "because that way, it wouldn't be clear that it was blackmail or that he was giving money to a terrorist organization."

"Then what about the attack on the report that destroyed the original copy?" the Judge said, "how do you explain that!?"

Oh. Oh yeah. "Uh," Apollo said, "Orson felt like destroying it?"

"No, that's pretty obvious," Ema said before anyone else could say something. "I bet that there was something on the original report that would've given away the forgery- deeper or lighter markings from the penstrokes."

"In other words," Armando said, back to normal, "Orson had it destroyed so that he could try and pin the blame on Chandler-Chavez- hence why he tried to kill the lawyers too- and so that we wouldn't be able to prove it was him."

"Stop siding with him!" Orson snapped and he twisted his comb so hard that it snapped in two. The courtroom shuddered once again, and the sounds of gunfire suddenly became much louder. "Oops. I think that was the hallway bombs."

_Hallway bombs_!? Apollo took a deep breath. He had to stay focused… "Mr. Orson," Apollo said, "you had to've been the one who ordered the paper's destruction, because you're the only one who can command the various members of Blue Earth or Blue Peace." He slammed his hands on the desk and shouted, "just admit it already, Orson! You're the true killer of Gus Org, and you've been trying to pin the blame on Caroline and Chandler-Chavez!"

Orson clutched at his head and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" When he was done wailing, he doubled down, holding his head… and then stood up, now in military posture, his epaulette mysteriously back, and with a lit cigarette clenched between his teeth. And then he clapped. "Good show, Mr. Justice," he said, now sounding stiff and formal.

"Where did the old Orson go?" Ema said as Orson pulled a small phone-like device out of his uniform.

"Orson," Armando said, "you admit to it?"

Orson nodded. "I will admit that I forged that report in an effort to implicate Irene. I also knew of Caroline's past and forged an alliance with Morgan Fey to kill Kurain village and try and manipulate Irene into murder. However, there's one thing you are yet to answer- if this was all set up, then what about Marvin?"

"What?" Apollo said.

Orson took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke out. "You heard me," he said, "what about Marvin Org's death? Without Marvin's death at Caroline's hands, I doubt that Irene would ever've come to the conclusion that Org would want to kill her too."

"Oh, that's rather simple," Apollo said. "Your Honor, the defense wishes to implicate Henry Orson in the murder of Marvin Org as well."

The entire courtroom was silent, with the only sound being Orson's cigarette burning up to its base. "What are you _talking _about?" the Judge said, shaking his head, "I thought that Org was the killer?"

"And that's our last fatal assumption, your Honor," Apollo said. "I would like the court to direct its attention to the last piece of evidence at the scene of the crime- the cigarette. And thanks to Mr. Orson, we know whose it was- and what really happened."

"What are you talking about!?" the Judge said.

"Objection!" Armando shouted, and he slammed his coffee cup on his desk. "Let Red finish speaking!"

"O-of course!" the Judge yelped.

Good old Armando. "Your Honor," Apollo said, "it's simple. As Dr. Kamosinko mentioned, the police were afraid that the cigarette would be discovered during a trial of Org for his son's death. Therefore, we can assume that it was _not _common knowledge, to the point that even Chandler-Chavez didn't know about it until that mystery caller told her. And as Orson had already admitted to being the anonymous caller, in an attempt to goad Chandler-Chavez into murder… we can assume that Orson knew what happened in the last hours of Marvin Org's life!"

"Gah!" Orson hissed, and he stepped backwards, although hopefully enough not to set off that bomb. "N-no!"

"Objection!" Armando shouted, "then tell me, Red, what really happened!?"

"Mr. Armando, the defense will now lay out what happened," Apollo said. "From Ms. Caroline, we already know that Orson was at the Orgs' holiday party. While there, he acquired Caroline's natural gas containers and planted them them in the car, with the mechanism to release the gas."

"However, he needed a way to trigger that," Ema said, adjusting her glasses, "and that's how we'll find our proof."

What? "What do you mean?" Mia said, looking somewhat confused.

"Well, you see, while the car was damaged by the natural gas explosion, it wasn't completely destroyed," Ema said, "Orson was never able to wipe his prints, after all. So the defense charges that an examination of the car will reveal prints of Henry Orson, from when he set off the gas containers!"

"And in the process of leaving, he left behind a cigarette, that he knew he left and told Chandler-Chavez to try and legitimize himself," Armando said. He nodded. "I see. However, where was Orson?"

"…in the back seat," Apollo said after thinking a little, "we've assumed that Org somehow made a mechanism to cause the natural gas to leak. But if that never was the case- if the police had simply found bits of the car itself and assumed they went to the 'bomb'- then we can piece together what happened and find out why Org left when he did, and where he was going." Apollo pointed dramatically at Orson and said, "the defense charges that Org was bringing Henry Orson to his apartment! But at some point in the tunnel, Orson opened a gas container and rushed into the front to disengage the lock and jump out! Org, who saw Orson doing this, turned around- and subsequently died!"

"And if we find the fingerprints, we can prove it," Ema said, "even beyond the cigarette, and the coffee pot trick, and the actions of the mercenaries and Blue Planet."

Orson began twitching. "Don't- don't you have an objection!?" Orson demanded, and he began tearing his medals off frantically. "Don't you have something to say!?"

But Armando shook his head. "The prosecution rests," he said, "your Honor, the prosecution will order a check on that car immediately. And if that's true-"

"Then the prosecution asserts that the defense's theory is completely correct," Mia said.

"I- you- NO!" Orson howled, and he held his phone device up. "I'll do it! I'll blast those children to kingdom come!"

There was a set of gunshots, and Orson collapsed to the ground, but he was still alive and clutching the detonator. He began laughing and prepared to press the button. Apollo leaned forward, desperate to stop Orson- and then a phone rang.

Mia pulled Pearl's phone out. "Mia Fey. Oh, hi, Trucy… let me put you on speaker-phone," Mia said. She pressed a button and put it on the desk.

"Okay, I'll say it again," Trucy said, her voice ringing through the courtroom. "Diego and Valerie are with me, and we're going to the hospital with Aunt Maggey now. We've all been ordered to evacuate, but we're all okay now!"

"E-e-evacuate!?" Orson demanded, and he slammed his fist on the button.

"Is everything okay?" Trucy said, "I heard someone shot Mommy…"

"Go off!" Orson hissed, and he slammed the button over and over with his fist, until it was cracked. "Why won't- why won't-"

"And we saw the bomb squad go by, actually," Trucy said, "um, Aunt Mia, is there a dog over there?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And Orson collapsed to the ground, his splintered detonator under his fist and his medals scattered around him, like testaments to all the lives he ruined.

The paramedics removed him, and Caroline took the stand. "Ms. Caroline, you'll still be under arrest for your attempt on Marvin Org's life," the Judge said. He shook his head, and said, "and today's trial was certainly extremely stressful. However, it seems that the time has finally come for me to deliver my verdict." He glanced behind him to see that Shelly de Killer had vanished, and then he nodded and looked down at Caroline. "At least for the death of Gus Org, this court finds the defendant, Bertha Caroline… **NOT GUILTY**."

The mysterious confetti fell from the ceiling, and Armando and Mia were smiling. "We did it!" Ema said, looking happier than Apollo'd ever seen her, "we _did _it! Yeah!" She and Apollo shared a fist-bump.

Trial was finally over.

* * *

_January 15, 12:31 AM, Hickfield Clinic, Los Angeles, Room 103_

Mrs. Wright was still in her hospital bed when Apollo visited her. Mr. Wright and his kids had come and gone, according to a nurse; right now, her only visitor was Amulek Josephson, who was sitting in a chair and reading a newspaper.

"Apollo!" Mrs. Wright said, shifting upwards (she looked no worse for wear, if you ignored the IVs and wires and cords and numerous blankets), "so you've finally come to visit me."

"I'm just surprised you're able to be visited so quickly, ma'am," Apollo said. "I assume you heard about what happened?"

Mrs. Wright nodded. Besides Caroline and Orson, Chandler-Chavez and Dr. Kamosinko had been arrested, although the latter two had turned themselves in. Chandler-Chavez was also under suspicion of hiring Shelly de Killer, although she was saying nothing and de Killer had left with only a card to admit that he had been there. Further, the mercenaries had surrendered without a fight at the detention center once the police began arriving en masse, ensuring no casualties, while the police were able to subdue the Blue Earth/Blue Police extremists who'd been keeping the courtroom under Orson's iron grip.

And best of all, despite all the bombs Orson had set off, no one had been killed. Thanks to Mr. Wright, all the likely places for bombs had been evacuated, and the dam overlooking the Wrights' suburbs had been saved thanks to the actions of two disarming experts, Ted Tonate and Candice Arme.

"Well, I'm glad that in the end Orson was brought to justice," Mrs. Wright said, leaning back in her bed.

"Oh, that reminds me," Apollo said. "Mrs. Wright, how did you realize that report was forged?"

"The thought occurred to me after Chandler-Chavez mentioned that she met with Org on the 27th of December," Mrs. Wright said. "I realized that even if she was lying, we still knew when she flew in and out of California and we'd already confirmed it. So I knew that the report had to be false. However, I wasn't completely convinced until Orson shot me."

"And what were you doing with Detective Gumshoe?" Apollo said.

At this, Mrs. Wright smiled slightly. "By making myself a target, I could make sure that I could get the rings to Chandler-Chavez without Orson suspecting anything," she said, "fortunately, I was right."

Apollo nodded. "That was brave of you," he told her. Brave, but stupid.

And Mrs. Wright smiled lightly. "After what my mother did, I asked Josephson to come to court with his rifle," Mrs. Wright said, "and he told me that Orson and Philips were son and father. Knowing what Blue Earth did originally, I knew I had to do something drastic to save my family's life."

Apollo nodded again. "Mr. Josephson," he said, and Josephson glanced up, "how did _you _know about Orson, anyways?"

Josephson smiled wryly. "My late wife's maiden name is Audrey Phillips," he said, "she was an avid hiker. But one day, she went hiking with insufficient water at a lake that had recently dried up thanks to the Great Banks Dam. She was murdered by an unknown assailant, after she tried to get some water from him, according to the sole witness. The incident was only resolved four years ago."

"Wait," Apollo said, "does that mean-"

"Henry Orson is my nephew," Josephson said, "his mother's name was Orson too, you see, and he lived with her- they were divorced. But Henry and Ian were always close. He must've taken his father's death hard… to the point that he was willing to do _this _to kill Gus Org."

"So Phillips founded Blue Earth to avoid what happened to his sister," Mrs. Wright said sadly. "And many years later, Orson attacked the traitors to environmentalism and the woman who cared only about the fate of her brother and welcome Phillip's death, as a way of getting back at Org himself, I suppose." She paused, and looked right at Apollo. "It was a pleasure going against you in court," she said, "I hope we get the change again… and this time, that I not get shot."

Apollo nodded. That… would actually be nice.

* * *

_January 19, 5:04 PM, Los Angeles International Airport_

True to Ema's wishes, Mr. Wright had marshaled as many people as possible to see Ema off. There was Apollo, Trucy, Mr. Wright, Mrs. Wright (specially released from the hospital for now), Edgeworth, the Gumshoes (Mrs. Gumshoe was a nice if very clumsy woman), the Gumshoes' son Ace, Pearl, and Diego and Valerie, who both seemed very sad to see "Aunt Ema" go.

"So!" a man in a white uniform wearing orange sunglasses said, striding up, "this is who I've come to replace?" He reached towards his side-holster… and pulled the badge out. "My name's Bobby Fulbright!" he said cheerfully, "in justice we trust!"

"Hello, Detective," Edgeworth said, "fresh from San Fransisco… Ema. Good bye."

"Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth, sir!" Ema said. The others chorused their goodbyes as well, and Ema went so far as to give everyone a sort-of hug. But before she could do anything to Apollo, she said, "can I talk to you privately?"

Ema lead Apollo away from the group, who was now talking animatedly with Detective Fulbright, and over to a corner that overlooked the tarmac. "Apollo," Ema said, "it's been great knowing you. I know I'm only gone for a year, but…" she blushed and pulled a button out of her lab coat. "Uh, please remember me by this?" Then she looked left and right, and then said, "and, uh, there's something else too…"

Apollo could feel himself growing embarrassed too as Ema started to lean in, her eyes closing, her head tilted. He'd never been kissed before! But he closed his eyes anyways, and tilted his head himself. He was an amateur, but he wasn't going to back down! Ema pressed the button into his hand, and then he felt her soft lips on his-

"Herr Forehead's gettin' lucky! Good job!"

And Ema squeaked, rammed Apollo painfully in the forehead by accident, and then fell forward into Apollo, pinning him against the wall. Behind her, Klavier was standing there, snapping his finger and tapping his foot to an invisible beat. Then, leaning in, Klavier said, "I heard you got to defend with Herr Godot. That must've been fun, ja?"

"K-klavier!" Apollo said, his heart hammering almost as much as when a gun was pointed at him a week ago, "pl-please go away!"

"Go away, you glimmerous fop!" Ema shouted. She was bright red, and when Klavier left she said sullenly, "well, don't forget, okay?"

"O-okay," Apollo said. She stormed over to the group, where Klavier was now saying hello to Edgeworth and the others. Pearl and Mrs. Wright were watching Ema come over though.

"Mr. Gavin," Mrs. Wright said when Apollo and Ema arrived at the group, "could you please come over here for a second? As one prosecutor to another, I want to say something…"

"Sure thing, Fräulein Wright," he said, and he walked over to her. "Something wrong?"

And Mrs. Wright gave him an angelic smile and then slugged him, hard, in the gut. He made a sort of groaning noise and fell onto the floor. Everyone else seemed surprised… and then Mr. Wright said, "by the way, Ema, I don't think you work for the prosecution office of Los Angeles anymore."

"I will be blind and deaf for the next five seconds," Edgeworth added when Mr. Wright nudged him, and he took his glasses off.

And with a satisfied grin, Ema kicked Klavier in the leg and waved goodbye to everyone as she walked toward the terminal.

"Remember, kids," Pearl said, "don't copy your mother… unless someone gets in the way of two special someones! Then let them have it!" And to underscore it, she slapped Klavier before he could finally get up and stormed off. Mr. Wright laughed and he helped Mrs. Wright walk off, followed by two awe-struck little kids.

"Come, Detective Fulbright. We need to get you oriented," Edgeworth said. "Gumshoe?"

"Coming, pal!" Gumshoe said, and he and his family followed Edgeworth and a confused-looking Fulbright off. Apollo looked at the terminal again and waved goodbye to Ema, who waved back, and then left Klavier whimpering on the floor as he left the airport.

He slipped his button into his pocket and left to face a new case.

* * *

**A/N: And so, my first casefic is completed! From now until two years in the future, my sister will be putting her own casefic here, but never fear: even if I'm not writing it, I think you'll still see _some _of my influence there. ;)**

**I want to thank everyone who left reviews, favorited, and followed, and I want to know one little thing: if this story was enjoyable, predictable, or if the final evidence was too out of left field.**

**Finally, as final bit of behind-the-scenes: originally Chandler-Chavez and Adams were the same person, and Chandler-Chavez was the real killer. And here's one final mystery for you: who originally hired Shelly de Killer? Why was he in LA when Chandler-Chavez wanted to hire him?**

* * *

_Fine_.


End file.
